Active clinical trials for "Wounds and Injuries"

Advances in medical care have increased the proportion of elderly Americans and enabled them to remain more physically active. This has resulted in an unprecedented increase in the number of geriatric patients admitted to trauma centers. The elderly constitute 23% of trauma center admissions, but 36% of all trauma deaths. This disproportionately high mortality is attributable to a higher prevalence of pre-existing conditions, particularly, cardiac disease. Multi-system injuries result in critical cardiac stress. Although beta-blockade has been shown to decrease morbidity and mortality in patients at risk for myocardial infarction after elective surgery, their use in trauma patients with potential underlying cardiac disease has not been previously studied. We hypothesize that routine administration of beta-blockers after resuscitation will reduce morbidity and mortality in elderly trauma patients with, or at risk for, underlying cardiac disease. This study is a randomized, prospective clinical trial. One cohort will receive routine trauma intensive care, and the other, the same care plus beta-blockade after completion of resuscitation. The primary outcome will be mortality. Secondary outcomes include MI, length of stay, organ dysfunction, cardiac, and other complications. Changes in outcome may not be due to reduction in myocardial oxygen demand and heart rate. Laboratory studies demonstrate that circulating inflammatory cytokines contribute to cardiac risk in trauma patients, and their production is influenced by adrenergic stimulation. We will measure circulating IL-6, TNF alpha, IL-1beta, and measure NF-kB and p38 MAP kinase activation in peripheral blood leukocytes, and determine the effect of beta-blockade on the production of these inflammatory markers. Finally, the wide variation in patient response to beta-blockers is attributed to genetic variability in the adrenergic receptor. Therefore, we will identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPS) within the beta-adrenergic receptor, and determine their effects on mortality and response to beta-blockade. This study will provide the first randomized, prospective trial designed to reduce morbidity and mortality in elderly trauma patients at risk for cardiac disease. The laboratory and genetic component will provide additional insights that may explain treatment effects, lead to new therapeutic strategies, and have the potential to lead to additional areas of investigation.

The goal of this study will be to determine if a lower than normal blood pressure during surgery for bleeding in the abdomen or chest will result in decreased bleeding and decreased chance of death.

This study is designed to examine the effects of a wake-promoting agent (Modafinil) on working memory (WM) in persons with moderate to severe TBI utilizing a double blinded placebo controlled methodology. Our approach is to evaluate participants with BOLD fMRI and a limited neuropsychological battery to examine WM performance before and after pharmacological intervention. Hypotheses Because increased cognitive effort (as a function of decreased efficiency after TBI) is presumed to underlie fMRI activation dispersion that is seen during central executive WM tasks, we anticipate an attenuation of cerebral activation in prefrontal cortex during pharmacological intervention with Modafinil when compared to placebo administration on the mPASAT and vigilance testing. There will be a correlation between the decreased dispersion of the fMRI signal on scans and improvement in neuropsychological measures when individuals are on Modafinil that is not seen when they are taking placebo.

The proposal will assess the effectiveness of SRI treatment of anxiety following TBI. We hypothesize that participants will report significantly fewer and less severe anxiety symptoms after a 12-week course of citalopram than after a 12-week course of placebo.

SACCHACHITIN gel, prepared from the waste residue of the fruiting body of Ganoderma tsugae, was used in a previous study to enhance skin wound healing in animal models. In the present study, the effects of the gel on the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as well as on the healing of skin wounds in humans are estimated by a clinical trial. The hypothesis regarding the poor healing of the wound is the over-expression of MMP and the inhibition of the angiogenic factors. From the previous animal study, the effect of SACCHACHITIN was to inhibit the activity of MMP and stimulation of VEGF and we try to prove the effect over the human wounds from this clinical trial. Patients with a poorly healed wound, in which skin graft is clinically indicated, are included in this study. The exudates from the wound are collected and analyzed for the activity and concentration of VEGF and MMP. The change of the healing process is recorded. Positive results are expected from the clinical trial and the patients will get another choice for the treatment of the chronic wound other than skin grafting.

The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of autologous fat graft in enhancing peripheral nerve regeneration. The investigators hypothesize that fat grafting will allow for faster and greater recovery of motor and sensory function following surgical repair of injured peripheral nerves.

Primary closure or skin grafting of the donor site after harvest of a anterolateral thigh flap (ALT) is associated with significant morbidity. Incisional negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) may decrease complications in high-risk incisions. Successful use of NPWT has been reported in the treatment of ALT flap donor site wounds in a retrospective observational study, but no prospective study of NPWT application in the ALT flap donor site has been reported. This study aims to assess the incidence of complications at ALT flap donor site with an incisional NPWT device, PREVENA™. A prospective, controlled, pair-matched study has been designed to compare the effectiveness, complication rate, and scar quality of ALT flap donor site between using incisional NPWT and conventional bolster dressing.

The purpose of this study is to compare the microbiologic burden and need for further operative debridement of patients undergoing primary surgical debridement of infected tissue, soft tissue abscesses, or traumatic wounds of the upper and lower extremity.

Long-term sequelae in TBI is a well-recognized burn. We designed a proof of concept study, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled to evaluate 36 adult TBI patients. To evaluate the early and late effects of 10 days of 20 minutes applying transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), bilateral temporal cortex (CTB) and compare to sham stimulation, and online cognitive training. We expect that the active group will differ from the sham group, showing larger effect sizes in the cognitive assessment.

Randomized, placebo controlled study to determine if nebulized heparin may reduce the severity of lung injury caused by the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19