O
Open fracture
Open fractures are fractures where the skin is broken near the site of the fracture.
These can be more complicated to treat than closed fractures, and carry a higher risk of infection.
Outpatient
A patient who visits a hospital for treatment, but does not need to stay overnight (for example, when attending a physiotherapy clinic).
Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit (OCTRU)
A Clinical Trials Unit based at the University of Oxford.
OCTRU staff work closely with Oxford Trauma and Emergency Care and other clinical research groups at the University.
Orthopaedics
Orthopaedics is a field of medicine that focuses on the musculoskeletal system.
Outcome measures
Outcome measures are used in clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of an intervention or treatment.
Before a clinical trial starts, the research team will decide on the outcome measures and how they will gather information.
For example, some outcome measures, such as quality of life, can be reported directly by patients.