Extrait

Background and study aims Metacarpal fractures, commonly called broken fingers, account for about 40% of all hand injuries. Although generally surgery isn’t needed, when the break is particularly serious surgery may be required. In these cases, the broken sections of bone need to be surgically moved back into the correct place. They are then held in place by fixing a metal plate to the bone with screws, which stabilises the bone while it heals. Traditionally, the plate is held in place by fixing the screws above and below the fracture (bicortical fixation). Although this procedure is generally very reliable, the excess drilling could cause damage to the soft tissue of the hand. In this time of procedure it is very important that the screws are the correct size, as if they are not then this could also damage the surrounding soft tissue. Unicortical fixation is a new technique where the screw is only fixed to one side of the broken bone. This technique is much less complex than bicortical fixation, and so it could potentially cause less damage to the surrounding soft tissues in the hand. As only one hole is drilled, there are also less likely to be complications if the screw is not the right size. The aim of this study is to find out whether bicortical or unicortical fixation is better for patients in terms of recovery. Who can participate? Adults who have broken their fingers within 72 hours and are having plate fixation What does the study involve? Participants are randomly allocated to one of two groups who will each have a different type of ORIF surgery. Those in the first group have the bicortical fixation procedure, in which the plate screws into both sides of the broken bone. Those in the second group have the unicortical fixation procedure, in which the plate screws only onto one side of the bone. At 6 weeks and 6 months, participants attend follow-up appointments in order to assess how well their fracture has healed. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? Not provided at time of registration Where is the study run from? University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UK) When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for? June 2015 to April 2018 Who is funding the study? Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (UK) Who is the main contact? Mr Mark Foster

Critère d'inclusion

• Topic: Surgery; Subtopic: Surgery; Disease: All Surgery

Liens

• isrctn
• ictrp