Tap Water Versus Normal Saline for Wound Irrigation
Completed · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Wound Infection Rate
In brief
This study is designed to compare the infection rates in wounds irrigated with sterile normal saline to those irrigated with chlorinated tap water. The hypothesis is that the wound infection rate subsequent to irrigation with tap water is not significantly different than the infection rate for wounds irrigated with sterile normal saline. Inclusion criteria are patients older than 1-year of age who present to the emergency department with a soft-tissue laceration requiring repair. Exclusion criteria include patients with any underlying immunocompromising illness, current use of antibiotics, puncture or bite wounds, underlying tendon or bone involvement, or wounds more than nine hours old. Patients are randomized to have their wounds irrigated either with tap water or sterile normal saline prior to closure, controlling for the volume and irrigation method used. Structured follow-up is completed at 48 hours and 30 days to determine the presence of infection. The primary outcome measure is the difference in wound infection rates between the two randomized groups.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT01564342
- Run by
- Stanford University
- People needed
- 660
- Starts
- 1994-06-01
- Expected to finish
- 1996-06-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2012-03-27
Who can join
Age: 1 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Patients older than 1-year of age, who presented to the ED with an uncomplicated soft-tissue laceration requiring repair.
You may not qualify if…
- Diabetes mellitus
- Asplenism
- primary immune disorder
- Mechanical heart valve
- Chronic alcoholism
- Steroid use,
- Antibiotics use
- Immunosuppressive chemotherapy
- Wounds older than 9 hours or from a human or animal bite
- Puncture wounds
- Wounds associated with bone, tendon, or neurovascular injury
Where it is running
- Stanford University Medical Center — Stanford, California, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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