Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Simple Hand Lacerations

• Status: Terminated
• Trial end date: 2012-02-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Research Question: In emergency department patients with simple hand cuts, do prophylactic antibiotics reduce the risk of wound infections?

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: State University of New York - Downstate Medical Center
• Collaborators: Kings County Hospital Center; Staten Island University Hospital
• Treatments: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibiotics, Antitubercular; Cephalexin; Clindamycin; Clindamycin palmitate; Clindamycin phosphate

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• All adult patients (≥ 18 years of age) presenting to the ED with simple hand lacerations. Anatomically, lacerations distal to the radial carpal ligament will be considered "hand" lacerations. "Simple" or "uncomplicated" laceration refers to one that does not involve any special tissue (bone, tendon, blood vessel, or nerve).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Immunocompromised patients (cancer, chemotherapy, transplant, HIV/AIDs)

• Current or recent (within two weeks) use of any antibiotics

• Allergy to clindamycin or cephalexin

• Bites (e.g. dog, cat, or human)

• Lacerations resulted from crush injury

• Lacerations involving bone, tendon, blood vessel, or nerve

• Lacerations inflicted more than 12 hours prior to ED visit

• Pregnant or breast-feeding women