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HAWAII

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Feasibility study for a trial comparing two types of sutures in hand and wrist trauma surgery

Theme

Adult Trauma

Body Part

Hand

Hand and wrist injuries are very common, making up about one in five emergency hospital visits and affecting over 5 million people in the UK each year. Many of these injuries need surgery, and some patients develop infections afterward, which can delay healing and, in severe cases, lead to amputation. During surgery, the skin is closed with stitches, and special “antimicrobial stitches” coated with bacteria-killing material may help prevent infection. This small study will test whether using these stitches is practical and acceptable to patients, and whether it’s possible to measure infection rates effectively. Adults treated for hand and wrist injuries at three hospitals will be randomly given either antimicrobial or normal stitches. The results will help researchers decide if a larger trial should go ahead to see if antimicrobial stitches can reduce infection, speed up recovery, and save NHS costs.