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India’s first trauma registry raises hope for accident victims

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8 years ago

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India’s first trauma registry raises hope for accident victims

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By Dinesh C Sharma

Over 1.4 million lives are lost in road accidents in India every year and, for every death, many more are severely injured or permanently disabled. While it is critical to enforce road safety norms, improve road engineering design and implement ban on alcohol sale on highways, improving quality of trauma care can go a long way in saving lives not just due to road accidents but also other types of traumatic events.

Trauma care scientists in India and Australia, working jointly for the past four years, are confident the casualties can be reduced substantially through simple steps like better data collection and notifying hospitals before patients arrive.

Significant steps towards this have already been taken and are promising good results. India’s first multi-centre trauma registry has gone live a few weeks back and this experience would pave the way for developing a national trauma registry.

A registry is not just registration of injured coming to trauma centres or ‘injury surveillance’, but a database containing full spectrum of care for every patient. Over a period of time, such data can reveal how trauma centres are responding to the injured and how they can improve quality of care to save lives.

“If we know that we do to with patients when they arrive, it will help us improve patient care,” explained Dr Joseph Mathew, a trauma care consultant at the Alfred Trauma Service and National Trauma Research Institute (NTRI) in Melbourne. Trauma care is complex, often involving multiple disciplines within a hospital and external players in public and private sectors. Registries can help improve coordination and delivery of care to patients.

The unified registry which has been established at the Jai Prakash Narain Apex Trauma Centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, connects trauma centres at three other hospitals – Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (New Delhi), Seth V S General Hospital (Ahmedabad) and Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital (Sion, Mumbai). The registry has already captured data about 4500 trauma patients from four centres.

“We have demonstrated feasibility of setting such a unified registry and this can serve as a template for developing a national trauma registry,” said Dr Mathew. The registry is one of the main projects of the Australia India Trauma System Collaboration (AITSC) initiated in 2013. It is jointly funded by India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.

“The trauma registry at JPN Apex Trauma Centre helped us realise the importance of ‘golden hour’ concept. We were taking almost three hours in emergency department for resuscitation and stabilisation of trauma patients. By performing ‘trauma audit’ using data from the registry, we identified the gaps and once we bridged those gaps, we could reduce the emergency department (ED) time from 3 hours to 30 minutes,” explained Dr Mahesh Chandra Misra, former head of J P N Apex Trauma Centre, and co-team leader of AITSC.

Dr Misra said a national registry should be established in India soon. “We need to establish hospital-based trauma registries as soon as possible and network all trauma care facilities to generate good data. It is already late.”

Scientists have also developed a system for pre-hospital notification so that a trauma centre is ready before a seriously injured patient arrives at the centre. Pre-hospital notification is communication sent by emergency staff from ambulance to a receiving hospital while the injured person is on the way. For this a mobile app – named Soochana – has been developed. “No such system of pre-hospital notification existed in India till this app,” said Dr Misra.

The app is used by a designated person in trauma centre to receive the notification and relay the same information to selected doctors and departments within the centre so that they are ready when the injured arrives. This is called ‘trauma team activation’. “It is a like pitstop in car racing. Everyone is ready when a trauma patient arrives,” notes Dr Mathew. Pre-notification alone can save number of lives.

Another mobile app has been developed to help in rehabilitation of patients after they are discharged. Trauma patients need post-hospital treatment, care and support for a long time. In many places rehabilitation facilities are not available. In such cases, people could be helped via the mobile app. A clinical trial is underway to evaluate effectiveness of the intervention.

The Australian model of trauma care is much sought after globally. Australian trauma experts have also been approached by some state government in India to develop trauma plans for their respective states, but progress is very slow. “A state like Uttar Pradesh with population of over 200 million has just one ‘level 1’ trauma centre. It needs at least 8 such centres,” pointed out Dr Mathew.

“We were, 20-30 years ago, in the same situation as India is today. Four of my cousins died in car accidents. Now we have demonstrated how simple steps can save lives. Integrated trauma systems ensure that right person goes to right centre at right time,” said Dr Mark Fitzgerald, Director of NTRI and team leader of the joint programme.

“We have been able to bring down mortality due to traffic accidents by 62 percent. About 450 to 500 people die in India every day in road accidents. At least 75 percent of them can be saved by improving quality of trauma care and response,” summed up Dr Mathew. (India Science Wire)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to meet PM Modi after return from historic space mission

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, who recently returned from the ISS as part of the Axiom-4 mission, will meet PM Modi this evening. Parliament will also hold a special discussion on his historic journey.

Published

4 months ago

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August 18, 2025

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Subhanshu shukla

Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS), will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening at his official residence in New Delhi.

PM Modi to host meeting with astronaut

According to officials, the meeting at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg is expected to take place between 5 pm and 5:30 pm. Shukla, who arrived in India on Sunday, will also be part of the National Space Day celebrations scheduled for August 23.

Warm welcome in India

The astronaut was greeted at the airport by his family, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and hundreds of citizens waving the national flag. Shukla had been in the United States for a year, preparing for the Axiom-4 mission, which launched from Florida on June 25 and docked at the ISS the next day. He served as the mission’s pilot.

Emotional note from Shukla

Before his return, Shukla shared an emotional post on Instagram, expressing mixed feelings of leaving his space colleagues while being eager to meet his loved ones and people of India. He also quoted a song from the film Swades, which he had chosen as his anthem on the launch day.

Parliament session on India’s space journey

In honour of Shukla’s mission, the Lok Sabha is holding a special session today to discuss “India’s first astronaut aboard the ISS – critical role of space programme for Viksit Bharat by 2047.” Union minister Kiren Rijiju said the discussion would highlight the importance of India’s space achievements and future goals.

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Shubhanshu Shukla pens emotional note as he returns to India after space mission

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla penned an emotional Instagram post as he returned to India after his 18-day ISS mission, marking a milestone in India’s space journey.

Published

4 months ago

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August 16, 2025

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Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has shared an emotional Instagram post as he heads back home after completing his 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Astronaut reflects on mixed emotions

In his heartfelt message, written from the aircraft, Shukla expressed the whirlwind of emotions he felt while leaving behind his fellow astronauts, who had been his family during the mission. “As I sit on the plane to come back to India, I have a mix of emotions running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my friends and family for the past year during this mission. I am also excited about meeting all my friends, family and everyone in the country for the first time post mission. I guess this is what life is — everything all at once,” he wrote.

Acknowledges support and inspiration

The astronaut thanked everyone for the love and support he received throughout his journey. He also recalled the words of his commander Peggy Whitson, saying, “Goodbyes are hard, but we need to keep moving in life. As my commander Peggy Whitson fondly says, ‘The only constant in spaceflight is change’. I believe that applies to life as well.”

Shukla ended his note with a line from the song Yun Hi Chala Chal from the film Swades, reflecting his spirit of resilience.

Link to India’s space ambitions

Shukla’s return comes at a crucial time as India advances its space programme. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier mentioned that the astronaut would soon return and that he was tasked with documenting his training and ISS stay. This record will serve as a valuable reference for Gaganyaan, India’s first human spaceflight mission.

Over the past year, Shukla trained extensively at NASA, Axiom, and SpaceX facilities. His flight to the ISS as part of the Axiom 4 mission marked a milestone in India’s preparations for future human space exploration.

The Gaganyaan project aims to send Indian astronauts into orbit aboard an indigenous rocket. The government has also outlined plans for a Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035 and a crewed mission to the moon by 2040.

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Shubhanshu Shukla becomes second Indian in space, lifts off for ISS aboard Axiom-4 mission

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla becomes the second Indian astronaut to travel to space after four decades, aboard the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station.

Published

5 months ago

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June 25, 2025

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subhanshu shukla

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force has etched his name in history as the second Indian astronaut to travel to space. Launching aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon on the Axiom-4 mission, Shukla began his journey from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, from the very launchpad that propelled Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 moon mission in 1969.

Four decades after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to journey into space in 1984, Shukla’s mission marks a monumental milestone for India’s space ambitions. Speaking ahead of the mission, Shukla expressed the emotional weight of the moment, saying, “I carry with me not just instruments and equipment, but the hopes and dreams of a billion hearts.”

A multinational crew on a scientific journey

Group Captain Shukla is joined by Commander Peggy Whitson from the US, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The four-member crew is on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS), where they are scheduled to arrive after a 28-hour journey and dock around 4:30 pm tomorrow.

The fortnight-long mission includes the execution of 60 scientific experiments, with seven of them designed by Indian researchers. Shukla is also expected to engage in an interaction with a VIP from space during the mission, adding a special human touch to this scientific voyage.

A mission delayed, but not denied

The Axiom-4 launch had faced multiple delays due to unfavorable weather and technical complications. June 25 finally saw the successful launch, marking NASA’s sixth official date announcement for the mission.

Before lift-off, Shukla shared a heartfelt message with his family: “Just wait for me, I’m coming.” The Indian pilot had been under quarantine for over a month in preparation, ensuring he was in optimal health for the journey.

As the spacecraft orbits Earth en route to the ISS, India watches with pride and anticipation, inspired once again by the courage of its space pioneers.

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