Registry Data in Injury Research: Study Designs and Interpretation.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Injury data is frequently captured in registries that form a census of 100% of known cases that meet specified inclusion criteria. These data are routinely used in injury research with a variety of study designs. We reviewed study designs commonly used with data extracted from injury registries and evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of each design type.

RECENT FINDINGS: Registry data are suited to 5 major design types: (1) Description, (2) Ecologic (with Ecologic Cohort as a particularly informative sub-type), (3) Case-control (with location-based and culpability studies as salient subtypes), (4) Case-only (including case-case and case-crossover subtypes), and (5) Outcomes.

SUMMARY: Registries are an important resource for injury research. Investigators considering use of a registry should be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of available study designs.