The effects of prolonged spinal immobilization on a trauma patient are being investigated in a collaborative study by the WSU Department of Physician Assistant, Wesley Medical Center and the KU School of Medicine-Wichita.

Sue Nyberg, an associate professor in the College of Health Professions who also works as a PA for Wesley’s Trauma/Critical Care service, is the principal investigator.

"We are collaborating to investigate the effects of prolonged spinal immobilization on tissue oxygenation and will be working together to collect data on approximately 80 volunteers," said Nyberg.

The project began in earnest on March 31, with student and faculty volunteers from the PA program and other campus and community volunteers. Three graduate PA students, Jess Baumchen, Erin Gurss and Emily Hennes, were primarily responsible for recruiting volunteers and coordinating data collection.

Nyberg, who will step up to the role of program director and acting PA department chair when Rick Muma moves to public health sciences in June, is working directly with Paul Harrison, an M.D. and medical director of Wesley’s Trauma Services.

Gina Copas, a human factors psychologist and Teaching Associate with the KU School of Medicine-Wichita, is a principal investigator with Harrison and Nyberg.

Data culled from the two-week study at WSU will serve as control data for a research study that Wesley will conduct in the near future on trauma patients.

"We are excited about this project because it is the first of several collaborative studies we are planning on this topic," said Nyberg.

In addition, it’s the first time that the PA department has collaborated with Wesley and KU on an original research study performed on human subjects at Wichita State, she said.

"It’s an important step," Nyberg said, "in promoting and developing a stronger relationship between our institutions as community partners in research to promote advances in patient care."

The idea for the research study, titled "The Effects of Prolonged Spinal Immobilization on Sacral Tissue Oxygenation in Healthy Volunteers," bubbled up from limited research findings, she said, and more extensive anecdotal experience of trauma personnel.

One of the facts of trauma care is that the injured people being transported to a trauma center are placed on spinal immobilization boards by EMS personnel until injury to the spine can be ruled out.

If the period of immobilization is prolonged, Nyberg said the patient may potentially be at increased risk for the development of "pressure ulcers" at points on the body where a bony prominence lies in contact with the hard surface of the board.

"The development of a pressure ulcer is a complication that certainly causes additional discomfort for the patient," she said, "but also has the potential to put the patient at risk for infection and prolonged hospital stay."

Volunteers agreed to be immobilized on a spine board for 30 minutes, Nyberg said, after which a noninvasive measurement of tissue oxygenation was obtained and compared to a baseline measurement. The group of healthy volunteers will then be compared to the same measurements collected on a group of trauma patients at Wesley.

"We have been able to combine our resources and expertise to further study an area which has the potential to impact the care of trauma patients," said Nyberg. "We also anticipate developing this collaborative relationship to perform additional research studies in the future."