Celebrating Success: METRC's Award-Winning Contributions Shine at OTA 2025
METRC research was met with enthusiasm at the 2025 Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) Annual Meeting, winning a pair of prestigious awards and additional recognition for several presentations. A total of 21 abstracts were accepted for the conference, including 16 podium presentations and 5 posters.
METRC was honored with the Bovill Award, presented annually for the most outstanding scientific paper, for its presentation of the main results of a study entitled, “A Prospective Randomized Trial to Assess Early versus Delayed Weight Bearing Following Operatively Treated Ankle Fractures in the United States.” The study, led by principal investigator William T. Obremskey, MD of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Lisa Reider, PhD of the METRC Coordinating Center (MCC) at Johns Hopkins University, advances our understanding of post-operative recovery for patients with ankle fractures.
This prospective multi-center randomized trial enrolled more than 400 patients across 19 trauma centers with a primary aim to determine the safety of early (2 weeks post operatively) versus delayed (6-weeks post operatively) weight bearing and the effectiveness for improving return to work after surgery for ankle fractures. The study's primary hypothesis was that the rate of complications would be no higher in patients allowed to early weight bear compared with patients who delay weight bearing, and that early weight bearing would promote an earlier return to work. The study demonstrated that early weight bearing is safe, a key concern for surgeons and patients, but no benefit of earlier return to work was found.
The Best Basic Science Podium award was given to Prism Schneider, MD, PhD of Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, who presented a paper entitled, "Distinct Immunologic Mediators Are Associated with Venous Thromboembolism in Polytrauma Patients." This effort was a secondary analysis of data from PRECISE, a multi-center prospective observational study led by principal investigator Todd O. McKinley, MD of Indiana University/Methodist Hospital and Katherine P. Frey, PhD at the MCC. The paper sought to describe the relationship between immunologic mediators and venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk in polytrauma patients with major orthopaedic injuries.
Data from sequential serum draws for 33 immunologic mediators were evaluated to determine their effects on the primary outcome of image-confirmed VTE during the index admission. The analysis of 322 patients (including 29 with VTE events) revealed that three immune resolution mediators (IL-10, IL-13, and sIL-2Ra) may play a role forming blood clots. This finding suggests that distinct inflammatory pathways are influencing VTE risk and highlights potential novel therapeutic targets for risk stratification and prevention.
In addition to the award winners, three podium papers were selected as highlight presentations:
- A Multicenter Randomized Trial Evaluating the Effect of Tobramycin Powder for Reducing Surgical Site Infection After Fracture Surgery (TOBRA) (Lead Author: Robert V. O’Toole, MD, University of Maryland)
- Intraoperative Fluorescence-based Perfusion Imaging Predicts Early Re-infection in Fracture Related Infection (Lead Author: Leah Gitajn, MD, MS, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center)
- Do Thromboembolic Events Differ by Prophylaxis Type in Patients with Orthopaedic Trauma Based on Patient Setting (Lead Author: Lucas M. Marchand, MD, University of Utah)
These presentations stood out among over 1,400 submitted abstracts. As the orthopaedic trauma field continues to advance, such studies highlight METRC's role in helping to shape best practices from the bench to the operating room and through patient recovery.
The award winners as well as the lead authors of the highlight presentations have been given an opportunity to present their work on behalf of METRC at OTA Specialty Day in New Orleans, LA on March 6, 2026.