Injuries, Lacerations, Wounds
Conditions
Keywords
absorbable sutures, non-absorbable sutures, wound management
Brief summary
The primary objective of this prospective, randomized study is to compare cosmetic outcomes between absorbable and non-absorbable sutures in truncal and extremity lacerations in the pediatric and adult population. Secondary outcome measures include wound complications such as infection and wound dehiscence at the initial visit; and parental satisfaction and keloid formation after three months post repair.
Detailed description
Even though there some studies showing good outcomes using absorbable sutures in skin closure in clean surgical wounds, ED based studies still need to be conducted to convince ED physicians that the use of absorbable sutures to close the skin in traumatic lacerations are just as acceptable as traditional non-absorbable sutures. Use of absorbable sutures confers several advantages over non-absorbable sutures. For one, patients do not need an additional physician visit either in the office, or more often that not, in the emergency department. These visits add to ED overcrowding, prolonged length of ED stay and are often not reimbursed if seen in the emergency department. Moreover, adult patients need to miss work or school and children often have to miss school or daycare to have these sutures removed. The potential to avert another traumatic experience from suture removal in children who had been restrained for suture placement is another advantage of using absorbable sutures over non-absorbable sutures.
Interventions
PROCEDUREAbsorbable Suture Arm
use of irradiated polyglactin 910
DEVICENon-absorbable suture (Prolene)
suture
PROCEDUREsuture
non-absorable sutures and absorable sutures
Sponsors
Temple University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
1 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. Isolated injury 2. Non-contaminated or minimally contaminated wounds 3. Linear laceration 1-5 cms 4. Topical adhesives not indicated
Exclusion criteria
1. Trunk and extremity lacerations less than 1 cm or greater than 5 cm. 2. Moderately contaminated wounds or dirty wounds 3. Wounds with visible foreign bodies 4. Wounds more than 8 hours old 5. Wounds that can be repaired using topical adhesives 6. Complex wounds needing surgical referral 7. Wounds caused by mammalian bites 8. Wounds in patients with immune deficiency, pregnancy, diabetes, suspected bleeding disorder or renal dysfunction 9. Wounds in patients who are currently taking steroids 10. Wounds in areas of tension such as the joint or crease 11. Patients with allergic reaction to the topical anesthetic 12. Irregular wounds
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The primary outcome is cosmetic outcomes at 3 to 4 months using the visual analogue scale. | at least 3 months post-injury |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Secondary outcome measures: complication rates such as infection and dehiscence rates at the first visit post-injury. | 8-12 days post-injury |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed