An Absorbable Suture Versus a Non-absorbable Suture in Carpal Tunnel Release, a Randomized Controlled Trial (SUPER)

September 15, 2025 updated by: Kuopio University Hospital

Skin Closure With a Fast Absorbable Braided Suture Versus a Non-absorbable Monofilament Suture in Open Carpal Tunnel Release, a Randomized Controlled Trial

The study compares two widely used treatments in closing the wound after open carpal tunnel release surgery: absorbable and non-absorbable sutures. It is conducted as a randomized controlled trial, where the participants are divided into two research groups. The visual outcome of the scar will be evaluated a year after the surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

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.

Detailed Description

Absorbable sutures are more cost efficient and eliminate the need for suture removal both reducing costs and abolishing suture removal pain. We will study the difference in the visual outcome between the two groups. Based on former study the primary hypothesis is that there is no difference between the groups. The patients will evaluate their scars on a VAS-scale one year after the surgery. Secondarily we will focus on pain caused by the two sutures and take the suture removal pain into consideration. We expect therefore the non-absorbable suture to cause more pain in total. The evaluation will happen 2 weeks after the surgery by the patients.

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.
Interventional

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.
116

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Finland
    • Northern Savonia
      • Kuopio, Northern Savonia, Finland, 70210
        • Kuopio University hospital, Department of Orthopaedics, Traumatology and Hand Surgery

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria

  • carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosed with electro near my-graphs
  • symptoms typical of carpal tunnel syndrome
  • referral to carpal tunnel release
  • informed consent signed
  • the ability to receive the virtual questionnaire via email and answer it
  • the ability to understand and answer the Finnish questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria

  • repeat surgery
  • known allergy to suture materials
  • ongoing systemic steroid treatment
  • ongoing chemotherapy
  • ongoing immunomodulatory treatment
  • past hypertrophic or keloid scars or other severe disturbances in wound healing
  • age under 18, pregnancy or breastfeeding

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

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
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.
Experimental: Absorbable Suture
Surgical wounds of this arm will be closed with an absorbable suture.
Procedure: Surgical wound closed with an absorbable suture
Patients undergoing median nerve release surgery will get their surgical wound closed with an absorbable suture according to their respective study group.
Active Comparator: Non-absorbable suture
Surgical wounds of this arm will be closed with a non-absorbable suture.
Procedure: Surgical wound closed with a non-absorbable suture
Patients undergoing median nerve release surgery will get their surgical wound closed with a non-absorbable suture according to their respective study group.

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
Visual outcome (VAS) of the scar (nice and ugly) as evaluated by the patient
Time Frame: 1 year
The subjective aesthetics of the scar evaluated by the patient on a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from "the ugliest scar possible" to "the most beautiful scar possible". The proportion of ugly and nice scars will be reported. Outcome will be collected at one year time point.
1 year

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
Pain (VAS) experienced by the patient from the sutures
Time Frame: 2 weeks
The rate of any the pain in the area of the scar including pain related to possible suture removal evaluated by the patient on a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from "no pain at all" to "worst pain imaginable". Propotions of patients in ten groups from 0 to 10 will be reported. Outcome will be collected at two weeks time point.
2 weeks
The Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire
Time Frame: 1 year
A disease-specific measure of self-reported symptom severity and functional status measuring the effectiveness of the treatment. Outcome will be collected preoperatively and at one year time point.
1 year
Visual outcome (VAS) of the scar (nice and ugly) as evaluated by an outcomes assessor
Time Frame: 1 year
The subjective aesthetics of the scar evaluated by an outcome assessor on a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from "the ugliest scar possible" to "the most beautiful scar possible". The proportion of ugly and nice scars will be reported. Outcome will be collected at one year time point.
1 year
The Net Promoter Score
Time Frame: 1 year
Client experience, the likelihood of the patient to recommend the operation to a friend or a colleague
1 year
Costs
Time Frame: 1 year
The mean difference between the two study arms in treatment costs.The required data will be analysed from the trial data and Finnish healthcare registries.
1 year
Adverse events
Time Frame: 1 year
Adverse events will be monitored throughout the trial, and patients will be instructed to promptly report any potential serious adverse events. At the one-year follow-up point, the questionnaires will include an inquiry about whether the patient has experienced any adverse events.
1 year

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.
Kuopio University Hospital

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Eastern Finland

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 (Actual)

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.
September 21, 2022

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.
November 30, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 1, 2025

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).
May 25, 2022

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.
August 15, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

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.
August 17, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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 16, 2025

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 15, 2025

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, 2025

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.
  • KUH5203138

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Pseudonymised patient-level data along with the study protocol, the informed consent form and the analytic code will be made available in case of a methologically sound proposal.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Anonymous patient level data will be available if the European Union regulations permit after the study has been finished. The end date is estimated to be 1 January 2027.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal and reviewers of the journal where article will be published will be granted access. Proposals should be directed to aukusa@student.uef.fi. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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