Tracking Wound Infection With Smartphone Technology (TWIST)

University of Edinburgh

Status: Completed

Conditions: Surgical Site Infection

Treatments: Other: Wound Assessment Tool

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02704897

AC16032

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aims to evaluate if a smartphone-delivered tool can help assess for wound infections, and if this improves access to care and results in earlier treatment. Participants will be randomised to one of two groups. The intervention group will receive the smartphone-delivered wound assessment tool (SWAT), to access if they have concerns about their wound. The trial period is 30 days.

Full description

Surgical site infection (SSI) is defined by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an infection in the skin and soft tissues of a surgical wound, within 30 days of the operation. It is a common problem, and complicates 2-10% of general surgery operations. The majority of cases are diagnosed outside of hospital and can be treated with oral antibiotics.

Interest in the use of technology in medicine is increasing, with the potential that more advanced technology will help facilitate communication between clinicians and patients, aid in the assessment of patients, and improve clinical decision making. Over two-thirds of people now own smartphones, and regularly use them to access the internet. The investigators wish to use a smartphone delivered questionnaire to help assess SSI and see if this improves access to care and time to treatment.

The investigators will be recruiting emergency surgery patients with smartphones at the Royal Infirmary and Western General Hospitals in Edinburgh.

Participants will be divided into two groups. One group will receive the wound assessment tool, if they are concerned about their wound, they can use the tool to answer a series of questions. If their answers suggest SSI, a clinician will contact them to advise further assessment and treatment. The participants will also be asked to respond to the tool three times during the trial (to collect responses from those without symptoms), and upload photos of their wounds to a secure database.

The second group of participants will receive normal post-operative care.

After 30 days, participants will have a follow-up consultation, to determine if they have had a wound infection (this can be via telephone or face-to-face, according to participant preference). They will also answer questions about their experience of the study, and use of services.

Enrollment: 492 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 16+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Emergency Abdominal Surgery Patients
• Smartphone Owners
• Able to give valid consent

Exclusion criteria

• Significant visual impairment

Trial design

Primary purpose: Diagnostic

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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492 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention Arm

Experimental group

Description:

Wound assessment tool - delivered via a smartphone. A link will be sent to participants on discharge, which can be accessed at any point should they have concerns about their wound. They will also be sent the tool at 3 additional time-points.

Treatment:

Other: Wound Assessment Tool

Control Arm

No Intervention group

Description:

Normal Post-operative Care