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Fluid Lavage of Open Wounds (FLOW): Pilot Trial

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Wound Healing Problem
Nonunion
Infection
Interventions
Procedure: Type of fluid lavage solution
Procedure: Type of fluid lavage pressure
Registration Number
NCT01069315
Lead Sponsor
McMaster University
Brief Summary

The purpose of this trial is to investigate whether irrigation solution (soap vs. saline solution), or irrigation pressure (high vs. low) will decrease the rate of infection among patients with open fracture wounds.

Detailed Description

Open fractures are an important source of morbidity and are associated with delayed union, nonunion, and infection. Preventing infection through meticulous irrigation and debridement is an important goal in management, and different lavage fluids and irrigation techniques (e.g. high or low pressure lavage) have been described for this purpose. There are, however, a limited number of randomized trials comparing irrigating solutions or irrigating technique. We compared the use of castile soap versus normal saline, as well as high versus low pressure pulsatile lavage on the rates of reoperations and complications in patients with open fracture wounds.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
111
Inclusion Criteria
  • skeletally mature
  • sustained an open fracture of the appendicular skeleton (type I to IIIb).
Read More
Exclusion Criteria
  • vascular deficit
  • [any] allergy to detergents or castile soap
  • previous wound infection or osteomyelitis
  • previous fracture with retained hardware in the injured extremity
  • operative management more than 24 hours after injury
  • use of immunosuppressive medication within six months
  • immunological deficiency or disease conditions
  • fractures of the hands (distal to the carpus) or toes
Read More

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
FACTORIAL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Soap solution and High pressureType of fluid lavage solutionIrrigation with soap solution delivered at high pressure
Normal saline and Low pressureType of fluid lavage pressureIrrigation with saline solution delivered at low pressure
Normal saline and High pressureType of fluid lavage solutionIrrigation with normal saline delivered at high pressure
Soap solution and High pressureType of fluid lavage pressureIrrigation with soap solution delivered at high pressure
Normal saline and Low pressureType of fluid lavage solutionIrrigation with saline solution delivered at low pressure
Soap solution and Low pressureType of fluid lavage pressureIrrigation with soap solution delivered at low pressure
Normal saline and High pressureType of fluid lavage pressureIrrigation with normal saline delivered at high pressure
Soap solution and Low pressureType of fluid lavage solutionIrrigation with soap solution delivered at low pressure
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
The Number of Participants With Re-operations (All Subsequent Operative Procedures to Treat an Infection, a Wound Healing Problem, or a Nonunion).one year
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Mean Difference in Health-related Quality of Life and Physical Function From Baseline (Pre-injury) to 12 Months Measured by the SF-12 Questionnaire (Solution).1 year

Solution and pressure were analyzed separately for this outcome. The SF-12 summary scores (PCS-12 and MCS-12) ranges from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate that a person has better health status, while lower scores indicate poorer health status. Please note that the values reported are mean differences in scores from baseline (pre-injury) to 12 months per arm.

Mean Difference in Health-related Quality of Life and Physical Function From Baseline (Pre-injury) to 12 Months Measured by the SF-12 Questionnaire (Pressure)one year

Solution and pressure were analyzed separately for this outcome. The SF-12 summary scores (PCS-12 and MCS-12) ranges from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate that a person has better health status, while lower scores indicate poorer health status. Please note that the values reported are mean differences in scores from baseline (pre-injury) to 12 months per arm.

The Number of Participants With All Operative and Non-operatively Managed Infections, Wound Healing Problems, and Nonunions.1 year
Mean Difference in Health-related Quality of Life and Physical Function From Baseline (Pre-injury) to 12 Months Measured by the EQ-5D Questionnaire (Solution).one year

Solution and pressure were analyzed separately for this outcome. The EQ-5D summary score ranges from 0 to 1. Higher scores indicate that a person has a better health-related quality of life, while lower scores indicate worse health-related quality of life. Please note that the values reported are mean differences in scores from baseline (pre-injury) to 12 months per arm.

Mean Difference in Health-related Quality of Life and Physical Function From Baseline (Pre-injury) to 12 Months Measured by the EQ-5D Questionnaire (Pressure)one year

Solution and pressure were analyzed separately for this outcome. The EQ-5D summary score ranges from 0 to 1. Higher scores indicate that a person has a better health-related quality of life, while lower scores indicate worse health-related quality of life. Please note that the values reported are mean differences in scores from baseline (pre-injury) to 12 months.

Trial Locations

Locations (9)

St. Michael's Hospital

🇨🇦

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

University of Missouri Health Care

🇺🇸

Columbia, Missouri, United States

Hamilton Health Sciences

🇨🇦

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Ottawa Hospital - Civic Campus

🇨🇦

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

🇨🇦

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

East Texas Medical Centre

🇺🇸

Tyler, Texas, United States

Greenville Hospital System

🇺🇸

Greenville, South Carolina, United States

Sancheti Institute for Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

🇮🇳

Pune, Maharashtra, India

Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre

🇨🇦

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

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