NCT01473979

Brief Summary

Sternal osteomyelitis and poststernotomy mediastinitis is a severe and life-treating complication after the cardiac surgery. The incidence of sternal osteomyelitis ranges from 1% to 3% with a high mortality rate from 19% to 29% . The most devastating complication of the open sternum is the laceration of the right ventricle which has a very high mortality. Additionally destabilizations of the thoracic cage, prolonged immobilization, or substantial surgical trauma are further complications of the conventional strategy (4). In addition, postoperative infections after sternotomy are associated with prolonged hospital stay, increased healthcare costs and impaired quality of patient life, representing an economic and social burden. The emergence of increasing antimicrobial resistant bacteria augments the importance of postsurgical infections since the antimicrobial choices are becoming limited. Furthermore, the incidence of infection is an indicator for the quality of patient care in the international benchmark studies. Although several therapy strategies are nowadays present in clinical practice, there is a lack of evidence based surgical consensus for treatment of this surgical complication. In most case the poststernotomy mediastinitis is involving surgical revision with debridement, open dressing and/or vacuum assisted therapy. After the granulation tissue on open chest wound was achieved secondary closure and/or reconstruction with vascularized soft tissue flaps such as omentum or pectoral muscle is performed. It seems there is a need for more effective surgical treatment of poststernotomy wound infections, which may address the prolonged hospitalization and reduce number of surgical interventions and with this also perioperative morbidity. In light of this we propose a randomized study comparing new delay primary closure of the sternum to the secondary vacuum assisted closure.

Trial Health

43
At Risk

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
100

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Jan 2012

Typical duration for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
unknown

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

July 11, 2011

Completed
4 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

November 17, 2011

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 1, 2012

Completed
2 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

January 1, 2014

Completed
6 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

July 1, 2014

Completed
Last Updated

January 25, 2012

Status Verified

January 1, 2012

Enrollment Period

2 years

First QC Date

July 11, 2011

Last Update Submit

January 24, 2012

Conditions

Keywords

cardiac surgerypoststernotomy wound infectionsdelayed secondary closure of sternum

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • In hospital Mortality

    30 days

Secondary Outcomes (2)

  • in hospital stay

    30 days

  • number of surgical interventions during hospitalization

    30 days

Study Arms (2)

Arm A) Secondary closure with the vacuum-assisted system (VAC

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

after the diagnosis of the poststernotomy wound infection is established the clinical procedure is obtained as follows: firstly the empiric antibiotic therapy with vancomycin is induced. The lab samples including bacteriology test are obtained. Surgical debridement is made until occurrence of tissue bleeding. Finally VAC sponge is implanted wit the negative suction pressure of 75 mmHg. The patients are obtained 5 to 7 times to the surgical procedures in time intervals of 48/72 hours. Subsequently when the last three bacteriology samples are negative a delayed primary closure or rectus abdominal muscle flap may be done.

Procedure: Surgical closure of the poststernotomy wound infection

Arm B) Surgical procedure by delayed primary closure

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

In the first step, after the diagnosis of the infection was done, and the empiric antibiotic therapy is induced with vancomycin in the first surgical intervention the sternal wires will be removed, the mediastinum is explored and extensive surgical debridement is performed until occurrence of tissue bleeding.The patients will receive treatment delivered through the VAC system in the first 48 hours following the first surgical intervention, subsequently the wound is closed.

Procedure: Surgical closure of the poststernotomy wound infection

Interventions

Arm A) Secondary closure with the vacuum-assisted system (VAC); The initial surgical revision is done within 24 hours. The first revision with second look and debridement is usually made in 72 hours Subsequently in the following days the wound is stepwise revised during VAC changes.The patients are obtained 5 to 7 times to the surgical procedures in time intervals of 72 hours. Subsequently when the last three bacteriology samples are negative a delayed primary closure or rectus abdominal muscle flap may be done. Arm B) Surgical procedure by delayed primary closure; The patients will receive treatment delivered through the VAC system in the first 48 hours following the first surgical intervention, subsequently the wound is closed. after the sternum is closed by using metallic wires, pectoral muscle on both chest parts is mobilized and closed directly over the bone.

Arm A) Secondary closure with the vacuum-assisted system (VACArm B) Surgical procedure by delayed primary closure

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 80 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • years of age or more
  • Who has been operated on the open heart and received a total or partial median sternotomy
  • Informed consent has been obtained, subject is willing to follow protocol study treatment regimen, and comply with all planned follow-up assessments

You may not qualify if:

  • after heart transplantation or other orthotropic transplantation procedure
  • superficial wound infections (see definition at 4.1)
  • Sterile open wound dehiscence's without any sign of local or systematic infection.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Departement of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Lausanne (CHUV)

Lausanne, CH-1011, Switzerland

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Mediastinitis

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mediastinal DiseasesThoracic DiseasesRespiratory Tract Diseases

Central Study Contacts

Denis Berdajs, MD

CONTACT

Ludwig K von Segesser, Prof

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
MD

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

July 11, 2011

First Posted

November 17, 2011

Study Start

January 1, 2012

Primary Completion

January 1, 2014

Study Completion

July 1, 2014

Last Updated

January 25, 2012

Record last verified: 2012-01

Locations