Effect of Continuous Versus Interrupted Suturing on Wound Dehiscence and Infection After Abdominal Surgery

NCT ID: NCT07241507

Last Updated: 2025-11-21

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 80 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-09-11
• Study Completion Date: 2025-03-10

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether the type of suturing technique used to close the abdomen after exploratory laparotomy affects the rate of wound complications. Specifically, the study aims to find out if using interrupted sutures results in fewer cases of wound dehiscence (wound reopening) compared to continuous sutures.

The main question the study seeks to answer is:

Does interrupted suturing reduce the frequency of wound dehiscence compared to continuous suturing in patients undergoing exploratory laparotomy?

Researchers will also observe and compare wound infection rates between the two suturing methods.

About 80 adult patients (18-60 years old) undergoing exploratory laparotomy at the Department of General Surgery, DHQ Teaching Hospital, Dera Ghazi Khan, will take part in this study. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups:

Group A: Continuous abdominal closure using No. 1 Vicryl suture

Group B: Interrupted abdominal closure using No. 1 Vicryl suture

All participants will have their baseline characteristics recorded, including age, gender, obesity, diabetes, and smoking status. The surgical technique and postoperative care will follow the hospital's standard protocols. After surgery, patients will be followed for four weeks with weekly clinical assessments to check for wound infection or wound dehiscence.

The hypothesis is that patients whose abdominal wounds are closed with interrupted sutures will have a lower frequency of wound dehiscence compared to those with continuous sutures.

The findings will help guide surgeons on which abdominal closure method provides better wound healing and fewer postoperative complications.

Conditions

Laparotomy Closure After Abdominal Surgery; Wound Infection, Surgical; Dehiscence of Laparotomy Wound; Suture, Interrupted; Continuous Suture

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Group A - Continuous

Continuous Suture

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Continuous suturing

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

After an exploratory laparotomy continuous suturing using a single thread of Vicryl No. 1 will be used to stitch the incision's fascial layer together, 1 cm distance from wound edges and between each stitch, creating a line of even tension across the wound.

Group B - Interrupted

Interrupted Suture

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Interrupted suturing

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

After an exploratory laparotomy, interrupted suturing using a single thread of Vicryl No. 1 will be used to stitch the incision's fascial layer together, 1 cm distance from wound edges and between each stitch. A knot will be tied after each suture is passed through the tissue, and each stitch will be secured with its own knot.

Interventions

Continuous suturing

After an exploratory laparotomy continuous suturing using a single thread of Vicryl No. 1 will be used to stitch the incision's fascial layer together, 1 cm distance from wound edges and between each stitch, creating a line of even tension across the wound.

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Interrupted suturing

After an exploratory laparotomy, interrupted suturing using a single thread of Vicryl No. 1 will be used to stitch the incision's fascial layer together, 1 cm distance from wound edges and between each stitch. A knot will be tied after each suture is passed through the tissue, and each stitch will be secured with its own knot.

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Undergoing exploratory laparotomy
• Both emergency and elective

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients undergoing second laparotomy or re- laparotomy
• Patients on steroid therapy (assessed on medical record review)
• Patients who die within 28-days of surgery

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 60 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Muhammad Shehroz Sarwar

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Malik N Fareed, FCPS

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital Dera Ghazi Khan

Locations

Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital, Dera Ghazi Khan

Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab Province, Pakistan

Countries

Pakistan

Other Identifiers

U1111-1329-8430

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id