SRS120 - The impact of trauma and orthopaedic national institute of health research trials

Abstract Aims The United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has invested heavily in orthopaedic trauma research over the past two decades. We aimed to synthesise NIHR-funded trauma trials, describing their volume, design, recruitment, academic reach, economic evaluation, and equity reporting. Methods We conducted a scoping review using Arksey and O’Malley and Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. Clinical Trials Units delivering NIHR trauma studies were contacted, and searches undertaken in Ovid MEDLINE®, Embase, PubMed, and NIHR trial websites (2008–2025). Eligible studies were NIHR-funded UK orthopaedic trauma trials. Data were extracted on study dates, recruitment, demographics, trial design, anatomical focus, publication venue, academic impact (Altmetric/PlumX), and economic or equity outcomes. Results Fifty-seven NIHR trauma trials were identified, including 22 published studies. Across completed trials, 45 880 patients were screened and 17 623 randomised, a 38.4% conversion rate. Participants ranged from children to older adults; only two trials reported ethnicity and none reported outcomes by deprivation. Most trials focused on lower-limb trauma (68%). Collaborative authorship rose over time (median 61 authors). Visibility was highest for trials published in The BMJ, The Lancet, and The New England Journal of Medicine. Six trials reported economic evaluations; four showed NHS savings (£60–£644 per patient), while two had mixed or unfavourable results. Conclusions NIHR trauma trials have delivered large-scale, practice-informing studies with high impact and growing collaboration. However, economic evaluation is inconsistent, upper-limb and paediatric trauma under-represented, and equity reporting limited. Future trials should integrate standardised economic and equity analyses to maximise policy relevance.