NCT02784782

Brief Summary

Rationale: Thoracolumbar burst fractures are frequently seen in the trauma population, they have a large impact on patient's wellbeing and are a large economic burden to society. Thoracolumbar burst fractures might not need the standard care of brace immobilization for adequate treatment and a functional treatment might lead to same or better functional outcomes. Besides that, with functional outcome length of hospital stay might decrease and it might also be cost effective compared to bracing. Objective: The investigators aim to study the use of braces for thoracolumbar burstfractures, not only by measuring the functional scores and the effect of the bracing or functional treatment on the increase in kyphosis angle, but also on (health related) quality of life and health economics. The investigators hypothesize that no treatment is superior over one other. Study design: This project is a randomised controlled trial comparing brace and no brace treatment on function, kyphosis angle, pain, quality of life, and costs. Study population: Patients between 18 and 65, with a single level thoracolumbar burst fracture will be included. The fracture has to have a kyphosis angle of less than 35 degrees and patient has to be neurologically intact. Patients are excluded when they are overweight (BMI\> 35), need multidisciplinary treatment due to multitrauma, or have inadequate knowledge of the Dutch language. Patients included in the brace group will automatically take part in a brace compliance study. Intervention: One group receives a Thoracolumbar Sacral Orthesis (TLSO) for 6 weeks, the other group receives no TLSO Main study parameters/endpoints: The primary outcome of this study is the functional score at six months after trauma. Secondary outcomes are pain, kyphosis angle, health related quality of life, healthcare costs and brace compliance. Literature shows no difference in pain, functional outcome or kyphosis angle, therefore no potential risks are known comparing a brace and a functional treatment. Investigators aim that not using the TLSO results in similar functional outcome, pain and kyphosis angle, and less costs. Patients will be seen at first presentation and during two year follow up at the outpatient clinic at six standard care follow up moments. At these follow up moments a X-ray as part of standard care is made. At or just before each scheduled appointment they will fill in questionnaires taking from 15-45 minutes.

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
122

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for phase_4

Timeline
Completed

Started Mar 2016

Typical duration for phase_4

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

Study Start

First participant enrolled

March 1, 2016

Completed
14 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

March 15, 2016

Completed
2 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

May 27, 2016

Completed
1.6 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

January 1, 2018

Completed
1.5 years until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

July 1, 2019

Completed
Last Updated

May 27, 2016

Status Verified

May 1, 2016

Enrollment Period

1.8 years

First QC Date

March 15, 2016

Last Update Submit

May 26, 2016

Conditions

Keywords

SpinalVertebralBurstfractureOrthesisBraceThoracolumbar

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Functional score

    Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) derived from the Oswestry Low Back Pain Questionnaire used to quantify disability for low back pain. The self-completed questionnaire contains ten topics concerning intensity of pain, lifting, ability to care for oneself, ability to walk, ability to sit, sexual function, ability to stand, social life, sleep quality, and ability to travel. Each topic category is followed by 6 statements describing different potential scenarios in the patient's life relating to the topic. The patient then checks the statement which most closely resembles their situation. Each question is scored on a scale of 0-5 with the first statement being zero and indicating the least amount of disability and the last statement is scored 5 indicating most severe disability. The scores for all questions answered are summed, then multiplied by two to obtain the index (range 0 to 100). Zero is equated with no disability and 100 is the maximum disability possible.

    at six months, measured up to two years

Secondary Outcomes (7)

  • Quality of life score

    up to two years

  • Patient reported health status

    up to two years

  • Quality of life score

    up to two years

  • Pain

    up to two years

  • Medical Consumption

    up to two years

  • +2 more secondary outcomes

Other Outcomes (1)

  • Length of hospital stay

    From first admission until discharge from the hospital up to 10 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Orthesis

EXPERIMENTAL

Subjects will wear a TLSO for 6 weeks 24 hours a day or they will not. After 6 weeks the subjects in the TLSO group will decrease and stop the use of the orthesis. Depending on their pain complaints patients will be admitted to the hospital and will get adequate pain management following local protocol Intervention: After fitting the patient starts mobilising, under supervision of a physiotherapist, until pain is under control with oral analgesia. Sports and heavy lifting are prohibited for 3 months. No physiotherapy treatment is needed. During two year follow up patients will be seen at the outpatient clinic during standard care follow up moments. At or just before each scheduled appointment they will fill in questionnaires. These questionnaires will take 15-45 minutes.

Device: Orthesis

No Orthesis

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Subjects will wear a TLSO for 6 weeks 24 hours a day or they will not. After 6 weeks the subjects in the TLSO group will decrease and stop the use of the orthesis. Depending on their pain complaints patients will be admitted to the hospital and will get adequate pain management following local protocol. Control: The patient starts mobilising, under supervision of a physiotherapist, until pain is under control with oral analgesia. Sports and heavy lifting are prohibited for 3 months. No physiotherapy treatment is needed. During two year follow up patients will be seen at the outpatient clinic during standard care follow up moments. At or just before each scheduled appointment they will fill in questionnaires. These questionnaires will take 15-45 minutes.

Behavioral: No orthesis

Interventions

OrthesisDEVICE
Also known as: Thoraco-Lumbar-Sacral Orthesis, Hyperextension brace
Orthesis
No orthesisBEHAVIORAL
Also known as: Functional
No Orthesis

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

  • Th10-L4
  • AO foundation type A3 or A4 type fractures
  • Single level
  • Kyphosis \< 35 ° at first analysis
  • Neurologically intact
  • Adequate trauma

You may not qualify if:

  • Inadequate knowledge of the Dutch language
  • Multitrauma, which asks for multidisciplinary treatment
  • Inability to wear a brace due to overweight (BMI\> 35)
  • Known osteoporosis

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Elisabeth Twee Steden ziekenhuis

Tilburg, 5000LC, Netherlands

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Spinal Fractures

Interventions

Functional Status

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Spinal InjuriesBack InjuriesWounds and InjuriesFractures, Bone

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Activities of Daily LivingRehabilitationHealth ServicesHealth Care Facilities Workforce and ServicesHealth StatusDemographyEpidemiologic MeasurementsPublic HealthEnvironment and Public Health

Study Officials

  • Taco Gosens, dr.

    Elisabeth Twee Steden ziekenhuis

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Wouter Bakker, drs.

CONTACT

Joyce Brust

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 4
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
drs.

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

March 15, 2016

First Posted

May 27, 2016

Study Start

March 1, 2016

Primary Completion

January 1, 2018

Study Completion

July 1, 2019

Last Updated

May 27, 2016

Record last verified: 2016-05

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

In this research project the investigators aim for multiple publications in scientific journals and a promotion of a PhD student. The investigators want to develop a treating protocol with better functional outcome and less costs.

Locations