Chlorhexidine Gluconate Versus Saline for Flushing the Surgical Area During Colorectal Cancer Surgery

March 29, 2026 updated by: Nanchong Central Hospital

A Comparative Study of Chlorhexidine Versus Saline Irrigation of the Surgical Area During Colorectal Cancer Surgery: a Multicenter, Stratified Randomized Controlled Trial.

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of chlorhexidine versus saline in flushing the surgical area during colorectal cancer surgery. The primary outcomes included surgical site infection, postoperative complication rates, et al.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
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.
532

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 Locations

  • China
    • Sichuan
      • Nanchong, Sichuan, China, 637000
        • Recruiting
        • Nanchong Central Hospital
        • Contact:

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:

  1. Patients aged 18-85 years,
  2. Patients with surgically resectable colorectal tumors confirmed by CT/MRI before surgery
  3. All patients had a performance status score of 0 or 1 in the Eastern Tumor Cooperative group
  4. American Society of Anesthesiology grade I-III

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. The tumor may have distant metastasis
  2. History of previous abdominal surgery
  3. The patient has a history of other malignant tumors diagnosed in the past 5 years and has received radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the past
  4. There are obvious contraindications to surgery (obvious abnormal liver and kidney function, pregnancy)
  5. Participated in other clinical trials within the past 6 months

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: Double

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: Diabetic rectal cancer patients, chlorhexidine irrigation group
After colorectal cancer surgery, flush the surgical area with chlorhexidine solution 1 minute before suturing the skin.
Procedure: Intraoperative area irrigation
After colorectal cancer surgery, flush the surgical area with chlorhexidine solution 1 minute before suturing the skin. According to abdominal cavity contamination, bleeding and tumor invasion to determine the flushing time and flush fluid volume. If the abdominal cavity infection is more serious or exudate more, the flushing time can be relatively prolonged. At last, there were no obvious blood residue, tissue fragments and suppurative secretions in abdominal cavity. Ensure that the surgical field of vision is clear, the surface of each organ is smooth, and there is no abnormal exudate.
No Intervention: Diabetic rectal cancer patients, saline irrigation group
Experimental: Diabetic colon cancer patients, chlorhexidine irrigation group
Procedure: Intraoperative area irrigation
After colorectal cancer surgery, flush the surgical area with chlorhexidine solution 1 minute before suturing the skin. According to abdominal cavity contamination, bleeding and tumor invasion to determine the flushing time and flush fluid volume. If the abdominal cavity infection is more serious or exudate more, the flushing time can be relatively prolonged. At last, there were no obvious blood residue, tissue fragments and suppurative secretions in abdominal cavity. Ensure that the surgical field of vision is clear, the surface of each organ is smooth, and there is no abnormal exudate.
No Intervention: Diabetic colon cancer patients, saline irrigation group
Experimental: Non-diabetic rectal cancer patients, chlorhexidine irrigation group
Procedure: Intraoperative area irrigation
After colorectal cancer surgery, flush the surgical area with chlorhexidine solution 1 minute before suturing the skin. According to abdominal cavity contamination, bleeding and tumor invasion to determine the flushing time and flush fluid volume. If the abdominal cavity infection is more serious or exudate more, the flushing time can be relatively prolonged. At last, there were no obvious blood residue, tissue fragments and suppurative secretions in abdominal cavity. Ensure that the surgical field of vision is clear, the surface of each organ is smooth, and there is no abnormal exudate.
No Intervention: Non-diabetic rectal cancer patients, saline irrigation group
Experimental: Non-diabetic colon cancer patients, chlorhexidine irrigation group
Procedure: Intraoperative area irrigation
After colorectal cancer surgery, flush the surgical area with chlorhexidine solution 1 minute before suturing the skin. According to abdominal cavity contamination, bleeding and tumor invasion to determine the flushing time and flush fluid volume. If the abdominal cavity infection is more serious or exudate more, the flushing time can be relatively prolonged. At last, there were no obvious blood residue, tissue fragments and suppurative secretions in abdominal cavity. Ensure that the surgical field of vision is clear, the surface of each organ is smooth, and there is no abnormal exudate.
No Intervention: Non-diabetic colon cancer patients, saline irrigation 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
Number of participants with Surgical site infection within 30 days
Time Frame: 30 days
Any surgical site infection within 30 days of surgery is classified as superficial incision, deep mouth, or organ space infection according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards.
30 days

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
Number of participants with Postoperative complication within 30 days
Time Frame: 30 days
Including anastomotic fistula, anastomotic hemorrhage, intestinal obstruction, deep vein thrombosis and so on
30 days

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.
Nanchong Central Hospital

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.
July 2, 2024

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.
December 31, 2026

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 31, 2026

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 10, 2025

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 10, 2025

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.
March 11, 2025

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 31, 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 29, 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.
  • 2024135

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

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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