IO Vancomycin Spine

March 24, 2026 updated by: Mark Prasarn, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute

Intraosseous vs. Intravenous Vancomycin Administration in Spine Surgery

The goal of this research is to learn if injecting the antibiotic vancomycin directly into the bone marrow (intraosseous) or IO) during a lumbar (spinal) fusion surgery, is as effective or better than the standard method of giving it vancomycin through a vein (intravenous) or IV) during lumbar fusion surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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.

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 (Estimated)

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.
30

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.
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 3

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 Locations

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient is undergoing open posterior instrumented spinal fusion (PSIF) or transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF)
  • Patient is able to give informed consent to participate on the study. LAR consents will not be utilized for this study
  • Age Range >18

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previous spine surgery if surgeon deems it will affect the study
  • BMI > 40
  • Contraindication to receiving vancomycin, cefepime, ancef, or other standard of care pre-operative antibiotic (allergy, medical issue, etc).
  • Inability to administer the IO infusion
  • Refusal to participate
  • Diabetes as defined as uncontrolled A1C > 7.5 and eGFR <59
  • Immunocompromised or immunosuppressed patients (HIV, Hep C, ESRD, dialysis, transplant, chemo/radiation treatment in last 6 months, medications)
  • No vulnerable populations

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: Prevention
  • 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: Intraosseous Vancomycin
Participants in this group will receive other antibiotics according to the Houston Methodist Hospital orthopedic surgeon's standard of care regimen, which typically involves ancef or cefepime being administered in pre-op within 1 hour of the incision. IO Vancomycin will be administered in the OR after incision (500mg in 100-150mL normal saline (NS)), and the injection will be placed into the posterior ilium.
Drug: Intraosseous Vancomycin
The intervention is specific to the method of administration that will be used when giving the dose of antibiotic vancomycin which is done to prevent infection following surgery.
Active Comparator: Intravenous Vancomycin
Patients will receive the Houston Methodist Hospital orthopedic surgeon's standard of care pre-operative antibiotic regimen for lumbar fusion patients. This includes IV antibiotics (typically ancef or cefepime and vancomycin), which will be started in the pre-operative period approximately 1 hour prior to incision (vancomycin dose weight-based at approximately 15mg/kg, generally 1000-1750mg in 500mL NS).
Drug: Intravenous Vancomycin
This is the standard method of giving the antibiotic vancomycin to patients undergoing surgery across many specialties in order to prevent infection.

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
Change in Level of Systemic Vancomycin Concentration
Time Frame: Start of skin incision during surgery, Start of closure of skin incision during surgery
The level of vancomycin concentration will be assessed via a blood draw by the anesthesiologist staff.
Start of skin incision during surgery, Start of closure of skin incision during surgery
Level of Vancomycin Concentration in Bone
Time Frame: During surgery
Bony tissue samples (Superior Articular Process, Inferior Articular Process, and Lamina) will be taken during surgery to assess levels of vancomycin concentration in the bone.
During surgery
Level of Vancomycin Concentration in Soft Tissue
Time Frame: During surgery
Soft tissue samples (Multifidus muscle, Fat) will be taken during surgery to assess levels of vancomycin concentration in the tissue.
During surgery

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
Post-Operative Complication Rates
Time Frame: 30 Days Post Surgery, 90 Days Post Surgery
Participant's charts will be reviewed postoperatively to determine if there were any adverse local/systemic reactions and/or complications following the surgery.
30 Days Post Surgery, 90 Days Post Surgery

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 Methodist Hospital Research Institute

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 (Estimated)

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.
May 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
April 1, 2027

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.
April 1, 2030

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).
December 19, 2024

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.
December 19, 2024

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.
December 27, 2024

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.
March 25, 2026

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.
March 24, 2026

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.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • PRO00038766

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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