Cost-utility Analysis of the Use of a Laser Fiber in the Management of Non-abscessed Pilonidal Cyst (ACONIDAL)

June 11, 2026 updated by: Elsan
This multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label trial compares laser fiber treatment with conventional surgery in adults with non-abscessed pilonidal cyst. The main objective is to evaluate the incremental cost-utility ratio of laser fiber versus conventional surgery over 12 months from a societal perspective. Secondary objectives include 3-month cost-utility, healing time, closure at 3 months, recurrence at 12 months, postoperative complications, treatment parameters, postoperative pain, and duration of sick leave.

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.

Detailed Description

Pilonidal cyst surgery is common in France and mainly affects young adults. Conventional surgery is effective but may be associated with longer healing time, prolonged dressing use, and work absence. Laser fiber treatment is a minimally invasive alternative used in France since 2019 and may reduce healing time and postoperative burden; however, prospective randomized comparative medico-economic evidence is lacking. This national multicenter study randomizes adults with non-abscessed pilonidal cyst to laser fiber treatment or conventional surgery in a 1:1 ratio. The primary endpoint is the incremental cost-utility ratio over 12 months, using total costs and utility derived from EQ-5D-5L (QALY). Participants are followed from baseline to month 12, with assessments at J8, J15, M3, M6, M9, and M12.

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.
150

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 Locations

  • France
      • Agen, France, 47000
        • Clinique Esquirol Saint Hilaire ELSAN
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Damien LOUIS, MD
      • Caen, France, 14000
        • Polyclinique du Parc - ELSAN
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Julie LEQUET, MD

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. Male or female aged 18 years or older and younger than 80 years.
  2. Patient for whom excision of a non-abscessed pilonidal cyst by laser fiber or conventional surgery is indicated.
  3. Patient informed and having provided free, informed, written consent before any study-specific procedure.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Acute abscess.
  2. Contraindication to surgery and/or anesthesia.
  3. Need for urgent intervention for non-abscessed pilonidal cyst.
  4. Participation in another ongoing study or exclusion period.
  5. No health insurance coverage/protection.
  6. Legal protection measure or deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision.
  7. Hospitalized without consent.

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: None (Open Label)

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: Laser fiber
Laser fiber introduced through the cyst tract to destroy the cyst walls by thermal effect/burning; performed under general anesthesia with a small dry dressing afterwards.
Procedure: Laser fiber treatment
Use of a laser fiber introduced through the pilonidal cyst tract to destroy the cyst walls. Main steps include tract exploration, curettage, irrigation, two laser passes, and dry dressing.
Active Comparator: Conventional surgery
Complete excision of the cystic area by incision around the entire contour of the cyst, followed by placement of packing and an absorbent dressing; performed under general anesthesia.
Procedure: Conventional surgery
Conventional surgical excision of the entire cystic area with packing and absorbent dressing.

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
Incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) of laser fiber versus conventional surgery
Time Frame: 12 months after intervention
Calculated from total 12-month costs (direct medical, direct non-medical, indirect costs, including recurrences) and utility gain derived from EQ-5D-5L / QALY.
12 months after intervention

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
Incremental cost-utility ratio at 3 months
Time Frame: 3 months after intervention
3 months after intervention
Healing duration
Time Frame: Up to 12 months after intervention
Up to 12 months after intervention
Closure of non-abscessed pilonidal cyst
Time Frame: 3 months after intervention
3 months after intervention
Recurrence of non-abscessed pilonidal cyst
Time Frame: 12 months after intervention
12 months after intervention
Postoperative complications
Time Frame: Short term: intervention to day 15; medium term: day 15 to month 3; long term: month 6 to month 12
Short term: intervention to day 15; medium term: day 15 to month 3; long term: month 6 to month 12
Treatment parameters
Time Frame: At day 0 intervention
Duration of intervention and occupation time of operating room.
At day 0 intervention
Postoperative pain evolution
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months after intervention Pain measured at J0, J8, J15, M3, M6, M9, M12.
Numeric Rating Scale with analgesic use taken into account.
Baseline to 12 months after intervention Pain measured at J0, J8, J15, M3, M6, M9, M12.
Duration of sick leave
Time Frame: Up to 12 months after intervention
Days from hospital discharge after treatment to return to work.
Up to 12 months after intervention

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.
Elsan

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.
June 15, 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.
December 15, 2029

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 15, 2029

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).
June 11, 2026

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.
June 11, 2026

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.
June 16, 2026

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.
June 16, 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.
June 11, 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.
June 1, 2026

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.
  • ACONIDAL

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

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.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings