CMC Arthritis - Neoprene Vs. Thermoplast Short Opponens Splinting

September 25, 2013 updated by: David C. Ring, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital

Prospective Randomized Comparison: Neoprene Vs. Thermoplast Short Opponens Splinting. Outcomes After a Five-week to Sixteen-week Treatment Trial.

Carpometacarpal Thumb Arthritis is a disease caused by different factors and attacks mainly woman older than 50 years. The signs and symptoms consist in pain, swelling, joint instability, deformity and loss of motion. Some evidence has shown that splinting of the thumb may be of benefit. There are two methods of splinting: The first is Standard Neoprene wrap-on thumb support (in which the finger is kept in the same position with in a standard Neoprene thumb splint). The second is Thermoplast Short Opponens splint (This splint is custom-made and the thumb is use as a template to design the splint). The purpose of this study is to test and evaluate these two protocols of splinting and assess which one helps or works better in patients with thumb arthritis.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Detailed Description

Osteoarthritis of the thumb carpometacarpal joint is a common condition that affects approximately 16% to 25% of postmenopausal woman and causes pain, swelling, instability, deformity and loss of motion. This condition has been staged in 4 periods according to the degree of severity. Mild stages or stages 1 and 2 are usually treated conservatively by stabilization of the joint, which can be aggressively achieved by surgical ligament reconstruction or conservatively with thumb splints. Splinting is a typical treatment for osteoarthritis of the thumb with the goals of managing pain, stabilizing the CMC joint, and improving overall thumb function. There are limited studies showing the effectiveness of splinting for this condition indicating they are successful in decreasing pain and improving function in activities of daily living as well as radiographically improving joint stability. What is less clear is, once patients leave the clinic setting, how compliant they are with their splinting regimen. Patients with chronic illnesses tend to have compliance issues when it comes to their care. Also, there are limited studies comparing different modalities of splinting. A recent study compared custom-made short opponens thermoplastic splint with the metacarpo-phalangeal (MP) joint free to a pre-fabricated short neoprene splint. They found that patients preferred the neoprene splint but both splints provided some degree of pain relief, reduction of subluxation of the MP joint and improvement in function. Our purpose is to objectively quantify the various benefits of splinting for patients with thumb arthritis using the DASH score and assess if there is a difference between the pre-fabricated neoprene splint and the custom-made short opponens thermoplastic splint with the MP included.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
120

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
        • Massachusetts General Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients from the MGH Hand and Upper Extremity service.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients aged 18 or older.
  • Males and females diagnosed using clinical criteria as having CMC Thumb Arthritis
  • Radiological diagnosis is not necessary

Exclusion Criteria:

- Patients with previous history of CMC Thumb Arthritis treated surgically

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
1
Subjects using the neoprene splint.
2
Subjects using the orthoplast splint.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
DASH questionnaire
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
patient satisfaction
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months
pinch strength
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months
grip strength
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Massachusetts General Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 1, 2005

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 20, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 20, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 22, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 27, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 25, 2013

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2005-P-002327

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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