Laser Therapy for Pediatric Burn Scars

August 16, 2021 updated by: Joel Fish, The Hospital for Sick Children

A Controlled Trial Investigating the Use of Laser Therapy to Improve Pediatric Burn Scars.

A new era of outcomes for pediatric burn patients has begun as burn care continues to improve. Unfortunately, complete restoration of burn-injured skin may be limited by the development of hypertrophic scarring. Treatment with laser therapy is one of the newest forms of scar therapy available. Although laser therapy has only been adopted by burn clinicians within the last several years, early evidence suggests that it may offer significant benefits. Thus the aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using laser therapy to treat hypertrophic burn scars in pediatric patients by using a comprehensive set of subjective and objective scar assessment tools.

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.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

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.
20

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

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G1X8
        • Hospital for Sick Children

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

1 year to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Eligible participants will be pediatric patients with hypertrophic scars requiring treatment.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age 1-18 years at presentation
  2. Patients with a hypertrophic burn scar that has been clinically diagnosed by a burn care specialist
  3. Hypertrophic burn scar resulting from any etiology
  4. Hypertrophic burn scar is ≥ 2 months post healing
  5. Ability to complete English- language questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients with concomitant skin disease (i.e. chronic skin conditions, herpes infection)
  2. Patients with a history of keloid scarring
  3. Patients who cannot tolerate the intravenous (IV) sedation used to perform laser therapy procedures
  4. Patients who have had previous laser therapy procedures

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.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Laser Therapy
Participants will receive laser therapy for the treatment of their hypertrophic burn scars. Laser treatment decisions will be tailored to meet the needs of the patient.
Device: Laser Therapy
Laser therapy is a technology that can be used to treat hypertrophic burn scars.

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Vancouver Scar Scale Score
Time Frame: Baseline (month 0) to month 12

The Vancouver Scar Scale is composed of four subscales which include pigmentation (range: 0 - 3), vascularity (range: 0 - 3), pliability (range: 0 - 5), and height (range: 0 - 3).

Total Vancouver Scar Scale score refers to the score obtained by summing the values from each subscale (range: 0 - 14) with higher scores indicating a worse scar.
Baseline (month 0) to month 12

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale Score
Time Frame: Baseline (month 0) to month 12
The Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale consists of two independent scales: 1) the patient scale (patient-reported), and 2) the observer scale (clinician-reported). Both the patient scale as well as the observer scale include a set of individual subscales that assess scar severity (range: 1 - 10) with higher scores indicating a worse scar.
Baseline (month 0) to month 12
Scar thickness
Time Frame: Baseline(month 0) to month 12
Scar thickness measurements will be taken at five study visits over the course of one year and will be measured using ultrasonography.
Baseline(month 0) to month 12
Scar stiffness measured by the DermaLab Combo® skin analysis device
Time Frame: Baseline(month 0) to month 12
Scar stiffness measurements will be taken at five study visits over the course of one year and will be measured using the DermaLab Combo® skin analysis device (Cortex Technologies, Hadsund, DK).
Baseline(month 0) to month 12
Scar stiffness measured by ultrasound elastographgy
Time Frame: Baseline(month 0) to month 12
Scar stiffness measurements will be taken at five study visits over the course of one year and will be measured using ultrasound elastography.
Baseline(month 0) to month 12
Scar colour
Time Frame: Baseline(month 0) to month 12
Scar colour measurements will be taken at five study visits over the course of one year and will be measured using the DermaLab Combo® skin analysis device (Cortex Technologies, Hadsund, DK)
Baseline(month 0) to month 12

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.
The Hospital for Sick Children

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.
October 1, 2016

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.
May 1, 2020

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.
January 1, 2021

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).
March 3, 2016

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.
March 8, 2016

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.
March 14, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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.
August 17, 2021

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.
August 16, 2021

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.
August 1, 2021

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.
  • Hospital for Sick Children

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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