Comparing Delayed vs Primary Wound Closure After Emergency Laparotomy: Impact on Infection, Healing, and Hospital Stay

NCT07142395 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: U1111-1326-2839
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 82
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to find out which type of wound closure after emergency abdominal surgery leads to fewer wound infections and better recovery: closing the wound immediately after surgery (called primary closure) or waiting a few days before closing the skin (called delayed primary closure). Wound infection is a common problem after emergency abdominal surgery (also called laparotomy). Some surgeons close the skin right away, while others wait a few days to reduce the risk of infection. This study will help find out which method is better. The main questions the study aims to answer are:

• Adult patients needing emergency abdominal surgery will be included.
• Half the patients will have their wounds closed immediately (primary closure), and half will have delayed closure after 3-5 days of daily dressing.
• All surgeries will be done by experienced surgeons using the same technique.
• Patients will be followed for 4 weeks after surgery to monitor wound infection, wound opening, and length of hospital stay. The results will help doctors choose the safest and most effective way to close surgical wounds after emergency abdominal surgery.

Conditions

Laparotomy Closure After Abdominal Surgery

Keywords

wound infection; primary wound closure; delayed wound closure; Wound dehiscence

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Wound Infection

  Surgical Site infection - Presence any features of erythema, pain, pus discharge on examination of surgical wound and new onset fever (\> 98.6 F)

  From date of surgery to Four weeks postoperatively

Other Outcomes (2)

• Hospital Stay

  From date of surgery until date of hospital discharge, up to 28 days

• Wound dehiscence

  From date of laparotomy to Four weeks post-operatively

Study Arms (2)

Primary Closure

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Skin closed immediately after laparotomy

Procedure: Immediate skin closure

Delayed Primary Closure

EXPERIMENTAL

Skin closed 3 - 5 days after laparotomy

Procedure: Delayed primary closure

Interventions

Immediate skin closure PROCEDURE

After laparotomy wounds will be closed primarily using no. 1 vicryl suture

Primary Closure

Delayed primary closure PROCEDURE

Deeper layers of wound will be closed after surgery and loose mattress sutures will be applied to skin with prolene. After three to five days of daily dressing with bactericidal solution, the skin will be closed

Delayed Primary Closure

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 60 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Patients 18 - 60 years of age
• Either male or female gender and
• Planned to undergo emergency laparotomy

You may not qualify if:

• Patients undergoing second laparotomy
• Re- laparotomy
• On steroid therapy and
• Patients who die within 28-days of surgery

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Bkahtawar Amin Medical and Dental College Multan: lead

Study Sites (1)

Bakhtawar Amin Medical and Dental College

Multan, Punjab Province, 60000, Pakistan

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Wound Infection

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Infections

Study Officials

• Amjad A Professor, FRCS

  Bakhtawar Amin Medical and Dental College

  STUDY CHAIR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 6, 2025
• First Posted: August 26, 2025
• Study Start: May 16, 2025
• Primary Completion: August 15, 2025
• Study Completion: August 15, 2025
• Last Updated: September 5, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PA (1)