May 23, 2018

Dear Colleagues:

Over three days this month, 74 attendees – including 30 residents – gathered in Rosemont, Ill., to attend the AAOMS Clinical Trials Methods Course to learn from speakers about such topics as data management and patient selection and then break out into small groups to develop actual studies.

Since 2008, the biennial course has brought together a mix of residents, fellows, faculty and private practitioners to learn an overview of clinical trial design with a focus on Phase III studies.

On the final day, the four groups – which centered on craniofacial trauma / orthognathic / facial deformities, dentoalveolar / anesthesia, pathology / reconstruction, and TMD / facial pain – presented their study designs, potential impact, budgets and possible funding sources for randomized controlled trials. The groups fielded questions from faculty and course participants about those proposals, defended them and were scored in a tight competition.

The winner was the TMD/facial pain group led by Dr. Gary Bouloux with the proposal, “Does Liposomal Bupivacaine Reduce Postoperative Opiate Requirements Compared to Placebo Following Unilateral Custom TMJ TJR?” The project impact could include intraoperative liposomal bupivacaine reducing post-operative opioid use after custom total joint replacement as well as opioid-related adverse events and behaviors in addition to improving patient experience. Group members were Drs. Mohamed Abdelhakim, David Ahn, Zachary Brown, Bridget Ferguson, Louis Mercuri, Yuko Nakamura, Daniel Reece, Anthony Urbanek and Payal Verma.

With its move to Rosemont (the course was previously held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.), attendance was up 25 percent over 2016. AAOMS and the OMS Foundation sponsored the course, with travel scholarships provided by the Foundation (14) and the Osteo Science Foundation (five).

The four groups will present their study designs, potential impact, budgets and possible funding sources for randomized controlled trials during the 2018 AAOMS Annual Meeting research open forum. Congratulations to the winning group, and thank you to the participants and leaders for their hard work and a stimulating and rewarding program.