The Emergency Department (ED) research Team at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust forms part of the Trust’s broader clinical research programme, supported by the Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR). Researchers and clinicians working with BIHR and the Trust help to develop and deliver clinical studies that include emergency care pathways, aiming to improve patient outcomes, optimise urgent care processes, and evaluate innovations relevant to ED practice. The Trust’s emphasis on strong research governance and recruitment supports opportunities for ED patients to contribute to and benefit from high-quality research, reinforcing the role of emergency care research in advancing evidence-based practice within urgent and acute medicine.

“Research in the Emergency Department helps turn urgent moments into opportunities to deliver better, safer care for every patient.”

Current clinical trials:

• CRASH-4: The CRASH-4 trial aims to provide reliable evidence about the effects of early intramuscular TXA on intracranial haemorrhage, disability, death, and dementia in older adults with symptomatic mild head injury. The first recruitment into the CRASH-4 trial at Bradford Teaching Hospitals marks an important milestone, representing the first participant recruited by the Emergency Department research team, a newly established service. This achievement highlights the strong collaboration between clinical and research staff and demonstrates the team’s growing capacity to deliver high-quality emergency care research. It is an encouraging step forward in contributing to collaborative research that will help improve outcomes for older adults with mild head injury. For more info on the trial, check out: https://crash4.lshtm.ac.uk/index.php/home/
• POCKET: The POCKET study will use a systems engineering approach, in combination with health economic evaluation, to assess the potential role and utility of point-of-care blood biomarkers in the management of mild TBI in UK emergency departments. For info on the trial, check out: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07129577
• ASPECT: Aspirin after hospitalisation with Pneumonia to prevent cardiovascular Events
  randomised Controlled Trial (ASPECT). Pneumonia is an inflammation of one or both lungs, usually caused by infection. Pneumonia is very common with 270,000 patients admitted as an emergency to hospital in England every year. Most people recover completely but some have complications. Two of the most significant complications are heart attack or stroke. The ASPECT trial aims to test whether aspirin reduces the risk of a heart attack or stroke in patients who are admitted to hospital with pneumonia. This study needs to recruit 22,600 patients over 4-years to answer this question. ASPECT | Bristol Trials Centre