Medical Honey for Wound Treatment in Intensive Care. (MICARéa) Randomized, Controlled, Single-center Pilot Study. (MICAREA)

Wound management is a real public health issue in France. To date, a wide range of devices exists to treat these wounds, depending on their nature and stage of evolution. Honey has been proposed for the care of wounds and is effective in reducing the surface of wounds and the pain perceived by patients. Inanition, its use is very simple compared to usual care, requiring different types of dressing accross time. In the intensive care unit, patients are prone to suffering or developing numerous types of wound, but the interest of honey has not been investigated yet.

We propose a prospective, monocentric, randomized, single-blind, controlled clinical trial to assess the efficacy of managing acute cutaneous wounds with honey (Activon®) compared with standard care, in intensive care patients. The primary endpoint is the percentage of wound surface area reduction measured at 15 days from inclusion.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Critical Illness; Wound Heal
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: medical honey Activon® 25g Tube; Device: standard of care

Detailed Description

Wound management is a real public health issue in France. It affects around 2 million people, and represents a cost of almost 1 billion euros for chronic wounds. Patients in the intensive care unit are prone to suffering or developing numerous types of wound: ulcers, surgical or traumatic wounds on admission or during the stay, pressure sores and wounds associated with medical devices...

Several studies have evaluated the use of honey in chronic and acute wounds. It is effective in reducing wound surface area and decreasing pain perceived by patients. A few randomized controlled studies also show faster wound healing, with a significantly greater reduction in surface area, but these mainly concern chronic wounds with long treatment times. Although medical honey is CE-marked for the treatment of acute wounds, no studies have been carried out on the intensive care patient population. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of honey (Activon® , Advancis Medical laboratory - DEODAMED, Saint Die des Vosges - France) in the treatment of wounds occurring in intensive care patients, compared with the use of standard devices.

Critically ill patients with one or more acute wound (ie <8 days), will be included in absence of known allergy to honey and after consent (by the patient of his/her next of kin if he/she is not able to consent). The wound will be randomized to be treated with honey or standerd care, a maximum of 3 wounds will be randomized by patients. A drawing of the wound will be taken using a layer at inclusion, D7 and D15 (or hospital discharge if it happens first). The area of the wound will be measures by 3 nurses, blinded to the treatment arm, using the formula (A=LengthxWidthxπ/4). The patients will be follow-up at 3 months with a on-site visit to record the date of definitive wound healing.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Catherine CR ROD, NURSE; Phone Number: 0241353635; Email: arcdar-angers@chu-angers.fr
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Sigismond SL LASOCKI, PUPH; Phone Number: 0241353635; Email: silasocki@chu-angers.fr

Study Locations

• France
  • Angers, France
    • Recruiting
    • Angers University Hospital, surgical reanimation
    • Contact: Catherine ROD; Phone Number: 0241353635; Email: Catherine.Rod@chu-angers.fr

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Hospitalization in surgical intensive care unit A -USC PTO CHU ANGERS
• Informed consent signed by patient or relative (or emergency inclusion procedure)
• Patient with one or more wounds ≥ 4 cm2, evolving for less than 8 days, including: stage 2, 3, 4 pressure sores, lacerations, ulcers, dermabrasions and scar disunions.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with honey intolerance/allergy to bee stings
• Patients with wounds lasting more than 8 days
• Patient with a bleeding wound,
• Patient with a tunneled wound
• Patients with chronic dermatoses
• Patient with an estimated life expectancy < 15 days
• Expected discharge ≤48 hours.
• No affiliation to a French social security scheme or beneficiary of such a scheme.
• Pregnant, breast-feeding or parturient woman
• Person deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision
• Person subject to a legal protection measure

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: medical honey; the patients randomised to this arm will have honey (Activon® Advancis Medical.)	Device: medical honey Activon® 25g Tube; no blinding procedures will be set up for the adminisration of the treatement; Other Names: medical honey
Active Comparator: standard of care; the patients randomised to this arm will have standard of care recommanded by HAS (french organisation)	Device: standard of care; no blinding procedures will be set up for the adminisration of the treatement; Other Names: recommendation of HAS ( french administration)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
percentage of wound area reduction measured 15 days after inclusion (or on hospital discharge if before Day15).	R = (AJ15-AJ0)/SJ0 x100 with wound area obtained as the mean of the measures made by 3 nurses using a layer of the wound and the formula Area = maximal Length x maximal Width x π/4 R, percentage reduction in surface area (expressed in %); S, surface area (cm²); D, day; D0=day of inclusion	15 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
percentage of patient with pain	pain evaluation before and after wound care at Day0,Day7 and Day15, using a numerical scale (graduated from 0 to 10) or the Behavior Pain Scale. A scale >3 or a BPS>6 are indicative of significant pain	Day0, Day7 and Day15
total healing,	to assess total healing, measured by the proportion of patients with total skin healing at Day7, Day15 (or hospital discharge if before Day15) and Day90 (outpatient visit).	Day0, Day7 and Day15
scarring progress	To assess scarring progress at Day0, Day7, Day15 and Day90 using a visual colorimetric scale (black = necrosis; yellow = fibrin; red = budding)	Day0, Day7, Day15 and Day90:
Dressing time	To assess the time needed for dressing repair at Day0, Day7 and Day15 (or on day of discharge if before Day15): in minutes	Day0, Day7 and Day15
numbers of honey tubes used for dressings	to assess Number of honey tubes used for dressings at Day0, Day7 and Day15 (or on day of discharge if before D15).	Day0, Day7 and Day15
total honey tubes	to asses Number of honey tubes used/returned at Day90 during follow-up visit.	Day90

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Angers
• Investigators: Study Chair: Sigismond LASOCKI, MD, PhD, anethesia and critical care department, CHU Angers; Principal Investigator: catherine ROD, anethesia and critical care department, CHU Angers

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 11, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 18, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 20, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): November 29, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 6, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 31, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: HONEY
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Critical Illness
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2023-A01393-42

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