Open AccessHand and Wrist Trauma: Antimicrobials and Infection (HAWAII)
Author(s) -
Justin C.R. Wormald,
Jeremy Rodrigues,
Jonathan A. Cook,
Daniel PrietoAlhambra,
Matthew L. Costa
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
bone and joint open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2633-1462
DOI - 10.1302/2633-1462.37.bjo-2022-0048
Subject(s) - medicine , randomized controlled trial , clinical trial , psychological intervention , emergency department , wrist , surgery , trauma surgery , physical therapy , orthopedic surgery , nursing
Hand trauma accounts for one in five of emergency department attendances, with a UK incidence of over five million injuries/year and 250,000 operations/year. Surgical site infection (SSI) in hand trauma surgery leads to further interventions, poor outcomes, and prolonged recovery, but has been poorly researched. Antimicrobial sutures have been recognized by both the World Health Organization and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence as potentially effective for reducing SSI. They have never been studied in hand trauma surgery: a completely different patient group and clinical pathway to previous randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of these sutures. Antimicrobial sutures are expensive, and further research in hand trauma is warranted before they become standard of care. The aim of this protocol is to conduct a feasibility study of antimicrobial sutures in patients undergoing hand trauma surgery to establish acceptability, compliance, and retention for a definitive trial.