Feasibility Trial for Postoperative Wound Surveillance Using Smartphones
Surgical Wound InfectionThe proposed trial is a pilot to test a smartphone application (app) that will ultimately allow patients to take and transmit photos of their postoperative wounds from home and relay other symptom information. This protocol covers the single-institution pilot study of the app's use in the period between hospital discharge and a patient's first follow-up clinic visit. The investigators will recruit vascular surgery patients either preoperatively in clinic or in the post-operative, pre-discharge period following surgery to participate in the pilot. Using a training protocol refined in the usability-testing phase of the project, patients will be trained to use the smartphone and the wound surveillance app prior to discharge. Patients will use the app from home to take send digital images of their postoperative wounds and answer a short survey, all of which will be transmitted to a secure database maintained by the University of Wisconsin (UW) Department of Surgery and accessible only to UW-employed study personnel. These data will be evaluated by one of three vascular surgery service nurse practitioners (NPs) daily and entered into the medical record. Patients who have concerning findings either in their images or in their survey answers will be contacted for further evaluation. Smartphones will be provided to patients who do not have one of their own, through a partnership with AT&T. Sociodemographic and comorbidity data collected from the medical record will be kept at UW Department of Surgery on a secure server and accessible only to UW employed study personnel.
Compare Antimicrobial to Conventional Suture in Patients Receiving Primary Total Knee Replacement...
Wound InfectionTotal knee replacement is now one of the most popular reconstructive procedures for the elderly people to regain their functional capacity and life quality. However the reported incidence of postoperative infection or surgical site infection after total knee replacement has been around 1 to 2 percent. The cost and expenditure for treating periprosthetic infection are high and the results are often detrimental to the patients who suffered from the complication. To decrease the wound healing complication related to the contamination of bacteria, an antibacterial suture was used successfully in some clinical settings and in animal experiments. Whether the antibacterial suture material could be used in patients with total knee replacement has not been addressed in the past. The investigators therefore propose a prospective randomized double-blinded study to investigate the efficacy of an antibacterial suture material in total knee replacement. The inclusion criteria are patients with degenerative osteoarthritis without previous surgery to the index knee. Patients who have inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis, who have neurovascular disease of the lower extremities, who have history of liver cirrhosis or under hemodialysis for renal failure are excluded. One hundred and two patients will be randomized to study group (51 knees) and control group (51 knees) in a period of 12 months. All cases will follow the standard protocol based on clinical pathway. Antibacterial suture material (Vicryl Plus, Ethicon) will be used in the study group and regular suture material (Vicryl, Ethicon) will be used in the control group. Preoperatively, the skin condition (digital photo and image analysis),laser Doppler study, inflammatory markers (CRP/ESR/IL-6), functional score (KSS: Knee Society Score; SF-12: Short Form 12), and VAS score will be assessed. Operative data of operation time, blood loss and wound classification are recorded. Postoperatively, the skin condition (digital photo and image analysis), skin temperature, inflammatory markers, KSS, and VAS will be assessed on 1st and 3rd postoperative day, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 3 months.
Wound Infections in Breast Cancer Surgery After Preoperative Skin Preparation With Chlorhexidine...
Wound InfectionBreast NeoplasmsThe development of surgical site infections (SSI) in clean-contaminated surgery is regarded as being preventable. Known to be effective in the prevention of surgical site infection are the adequate sterilization of the surgical instruments, asepsis during operation, antibiotic prophylaxis where indicated, and certainly the preparation of the skin at the incision site, since the patient's skin is the principal source of bacterial contamination of the wound. This study aims to investigate the efficacy in prevention of surgical site infection in clean surgery, using two different standardized methods of skin preparation: povidone-iodine 10% aqueous solution from 1.5 liter bulk bottle, versus tinted 2% chlorhexidine in 70% isopropyl alcohol in a single-dose applicator. To reduce the variables involved, a single-center study will enroll a homogeneous population, undergoing breast cancer surgery.
Clorhexidine Versus Povidone for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infection After Cesarean Section...
Surgical Wound InfectionMany solutions are used for cleaning the skin of a patient previous to a surgery. Although the efficacy of clorhexidine has been proved in other surgical procedures, there is only a retrospective study in cesarean section (they report no benefit of one solution over the other). The investigators would like to evaluate the difference in surgical site infection in patients after cesarean section comparing preparation of the skin with clorhexidine versus povidone.
Compression Treatment Effects on Complications and Healing of Achilles Tendon Rupture
RuptureVenous Thromboembolism2 moreThis prospective randomized study aims to determine whether intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC), 75 patients, beneath functional bracing compared to treatment-as-usual in plaster cast, 75 patients, can reduce the Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) incidence and promote healing of sutured acute Achilles tendon ruptures. At two weeks post surgery, the IPC intervention will be ended and both patient groups will be immobilized in an orthosis until follow-up at six weeks. The endpoint of the first part of the study is VTE events. The primary outcome will be the DVT-incidence at two weeks, assessed using screening compression duplex ultrasound (CDU) by two ultrasonographers masked to the treatment allocation. Secondary outcome will be the DVT-incidence at 6 weeks. 1) Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) detected by CDU , 2) isolated calf muscle vein thrombosis (ICMVT) detected by CDU, 3) symptomatic DVT or ICMVT detected by CDU, 4) symptomatic pulmonary embolism detected by computer tomography. The endpoint of the second part of the study is tendon healing quantified at 2 weeks by microdialysis followed by quantification of markers for tendon repair. The endpoint of the third part of the study is the functional outcome of the patients at one year post-operatively using four reliable and valid scores, i.e. the Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS), Physical Activity scale (PAS), Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) and EuroQol Group's questionnaire (EQ-5D) as well as the validated heel-rise test.
A Randomized Controlled Trial Exploring the Ability of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) to...
Surgical Wound InfectionThe study will explore the ability of negative pressure wound therapy (Prevena dressing) to reduce post operative superficial surgical site infection rate in elective colorectal surgery. Half of the participants will receive Prevena dressing on closed incision immediately after the operation while other half will receive conventional surgical dressing.
Study of the Efficacy of Plain Soap and Water Versus Alcohol-based Rubs for Surgical Hand Preparation...
Postoperative Wound InfectionSurgical site infections (SSI) constitute a significant health-economic and clinical challenge. The investigators conducted a cluster-randomized, cross-over study to compare the efficacy of plain soap and water (PSW), used ubiquitously across sub-Saharan Africa for surgical hand preparation, to alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR), with SSI rates as the main outcome measure. A total of 3317 patients undergoing clean and clean-contaminated surgery were included in the study and followed up for 30 days.
When Closing Midline Incisions, do Small Stitches Reduce the Risk for Incisional Hernia, Wound Infection...
Wound InfectionIncisional Hernia1 moreThe purpose of this study is to determine whether a technique using very small stitches when closing a midline incision can reduce the risk for wound complications such as incisional hernia, infection or dehiscence.
Povidone Iodine and Cesarean Section Wound Infections
Wound InfectionsThe aim of this randomized clinical trial is to compare the efficiency of hand scrubbing by Povidone-Iodine solution 10% over 7.5% concentration in decreasing post-cesarean section wound infections & compare side effects of both agents.
Study the Efficacy of Topical Antibiotherapy in the Prophylaxis of Incisional Surgical Infection...
Surgical Wound InfectionPostoperative Wound Infection2 moreThe main objective is to study the efficacy of topical antibiotic therapy with Amoxicillin / Clavulanic acid in the prevention of surgical wound infection in patients undergoing to colorectal surgery