Adopting common data elements for the National Trauma Research Repository through a consensus meeting: the trauma core

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Background: Trauma remains one of the leading causes of death and disability in the USA, yet trauma research continues to suffer from inconsistent data collection standards, hindering data aggregation and interoperability. To advance trauma science and improve patient outcomes, the Department of Defense, in collaboration with the Coalition for National Trauma Research (CNTR), aimed to identify and implement a core set of common data elements (CDEs) for universal use in trauma research. Methods: A consensus-driven methodology guided by ACCORD reporting standards was employed. CNTR established a CDE Steering Committee comprising military, civilian, and academic trauma experts. Existing trauma and traumatic brain injury CDEs from the National Trauma Research Repository (NTRR) and the Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research Informatics System were systematically compared, harmonized, and refined using informatics tools and expert feedback. The CDE Steering Committee met to evaluate 50 candidate data elements, with consensus defined as ≥80% agreement a priori. Results: Nineteen committee members (9 in person, 10 virtually) participated in the survey. A final set of 10 core trauma CDEs was approved for inclusion in NTRR v2, categorized under demographics and injury characteristics. An additional 22 elements were referred to domain-specific workgroups for consideration in future basic CDE development. This process marks a critical step in improving trauma data harmonization. Discussion: The adoption of these core trauma CDEs will support harmonization across trauma studies, enabling data reuse, pooled analysis, and cost-efficient trauma research. While consensus-based, this approach allows flexibility across study types but does not guarantee data harmonization. Successful implementation hinges on endorsement from funders and institutions. Future work includes developing therapeutic area-specific basic CDEs and promoting CDE adoption through training, technical support, and dissemination strategies. Level of evidence: Not applicable (methods-focused study).

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