NCT03835806

Brief Summary

The specific aim of this study is to evaluate whether RockTape has similar efficacy to Elastikon in the treatment of foot blisters in ultramarathon runners. Elastikon with paper tape and spray adhesive is a well-accepted means of blister treatment and has been used by medical staff at over 50 multi-stage ultramarathons around the world. RockTape is another commercially available product that has also been used by runners successfully to treat foot blisters. RockTape's adhesive qualities have a potential advantage over Elastikon, in that it does not require an additional adhesive substituting a level of complexity, weight, and cost for foot care. There have been no studies examining the efficacy of either agent for blister treatment. This randomized controlled trial will compare the traditional method of treating blisters with a multi-step approach of percutaneous drainage, paper tape, spray adhesive and then Elastikon to percutaneous drainage, paper tape and RockTape.

Trial Health

47
At Risk

Trial Health Score

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

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
130

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Apr 2019

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
3 countries

3 active sites

Status
unknown

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

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

February 2, 2019

Completed
9 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

February 11, 2019

Completed
3 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

April 27, 2019

Completed
3.3 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

August 31, 2022

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

August 31, 2022

Completed
Last Updated

June 25, 2021

Status Verified

June 1, 2021

Enrollment Period

3.3 years

First QC Date

February 2, 2019

Last Update Submit

June 22, 2021

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Treatment success

    The subject's involvement in the study will end in one of the following situations and the researcher will fill out the appropriate data sheet at the time of the subject's departure from the study. 1. The blister treatment is a success as defined by: 1. the blister treatment falls off and the subject has no pain and no blister reoccurrence 2. the blister treatment is removed by the subject and does not need to be replaced because the there is no pain or blister present 3. the blister treatment stays on for the length of the study needing no intervention 2. The blister treatment is a failure as defined by: 1. if the blister re-occurs 2. if the treated area has pain to the point that the blister treatment must be removed to evaluate 3. if the subject removes the blister treatment and needs to be retreated. 3. The race has come to completion 4. The subject withdraws from the race or the study.

    Data will be collected during the 1 week ultramarathon in austere conditions until study completion, usually 3-5 days. This will be conducted over 3 separate races.

Study Arms (2)

Elastikon - traditional

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The participant will be randomized to a treatment arm according to their racing bib number. Even bib numbers will be in the Elastikon treatment arm. The researcher will evaluate the blister and treat according to treatment arm with the following blister treatment device intervention: the blister will be prepped per routine, drained, covered with paper tape, sprayed with adhesive spray and then covered with Elastikon.

Other: Elastikon

Rocktape - novel

EXPERIMENTAL

The participant will be randomized to a treatment arm according to their racing bib number. Odd bib numbers will be in the Rocktape treatment arm. The researcher will evaluate the blister and treat according to treatment arm with the following blister treatment device intervention: the blister will be prepped per routine, drained, covered with paper tape and then covered with Rocktape

Other: Rocktape

Interventions

This randomized controlled trial will compare the traditional method of treating blisters with a multi-step approach of percutaneous drainage, paper tape, spray adhesive and then Elastikon which is our traditional blister treatment approach.

Elastikon - traditional

This randomized controlled trial will compare the traditional method of treating blisters with a multi-step approach of percutaneous drainage, paper tape and then Rocktape which is our novel blister treatment approach.

Rocktape - novel

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

  • The study enrollment period will run for approximately 7 days over 3 weeks throughout 2019 at Racing the Planet races in Namibia, Mongolia and Chile. All racers are potential subjects.

You may not qualify if:

  • Toe blisters will be excluded because they are treated with paper tape only to avoid friction against neighboring toes and further blister formation.
  • Only intact blisters are included in this study as de-roofed blisters are treated differently.
  • Hemorrhagic blisters are excluded as they are often not amenable to percutaneous drainage given the increased risk in infection.
  • If the most painful blister is a toe blister or a hemorrhagic blister, then the second most painful blister will be selected. If there is no second blister, the subject cannot be enrolled at this time.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (3)

Racing the Planet

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

RECRUITING

Racing the Planet

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

RECRUITING

Namib Desert

Windhoek, Namibia

RECRUITING

Study Officials

  • Patrick B Burns, MD

    Stanford University

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Patrick B Burns, MD

CONTACT

Grant Lipman, MD

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Masking Details
The treatments are visually dissimilar, therefore blinding for the investigator and subject is not possible.
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: This is a randomized control trial looking at a novel blister treatment intervention versus a traditional model.
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Clinical Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

February 2, 2019

First Posted

February 11, 2019

Study Start

April 27, 2019

Primary Completion

August 31, 2022

Study Completion

August 31, 2022

Last Updated

June 25, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-06

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Locations