Study to Assess the Pain, Satisfaction, and Quality of Life of Patients With FITBONE® Lengthening Nail (FitForFrance)

Prospective, Observational Study to Assess the Pain, Satisfaction, and Quality of Life of Patients Implanted With the FITBONE® Lengthening Nail

This study is a prospective observational non-interventional multi-centre cohort study of patients, 12 years or older, initiating a lower limb lengthening procedure with FITBONE and who have a length discrepancy of 30mm or more between the limbs.

The following parameters will be assessed for up to 24 months.

• Pain using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Patient Global Assessment (PGA) and Clinical Observer Global Assessment (COGA)
• Patient satisfaction using the Patient Global Impression of change (PGI-C) scale
• QoL using the 36-Item Short Form Survey/Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (SF-36/PedsQL)

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Leg Length Inequality
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: FITBONE® Lengthening Nail

Detailed Description

The study period is 24 months post-surgery. Each patient's demographic data, medical history, any relevant concomitant medication, physical examination, range of motion data will be recorded using a standardized case record form after informed consent is provided and the healthcare provider completes a physical examination regarding the patient's conditions and record determination as to whether FITBONE is recommended. The decision to treat, observe, and to include in this observation study is at the discretion of the healthcare provider. This is an observational study and therefore, the participating healthcare provider will manage patients according to the usual clinical practice.

Surgery will be performed according to the standard surgical procedure described previously. Study of Investigational Product(s). Five to ten days after the lengthening nail placement, the lengthening mechanism is operated by transmitting energy necessary for the lengthening from the outside. This period is referred to as the distraction period. The rhythm of lengthening and strict protocol for an individual patient, indicating the daily lengths of lengthening to be applied, are decided by the healthcare provider taking into account all influencing factors. Therefore, the end of the distraction period, bone healing, implant removal, and 6 months post-implant removal may differ by individual. In the event the distraction period is extended by the healthcare provider, the new distraction period will determine the end of the distraction time point. All patients will be followed until the end of the scheduled study period regardless of any change in their treatment or other conditions.

Six visits are planned:

1. Surgery (baseline)
2. End of the distraction phase
3. End of bone healing
4. Implant removal
5. 6-month post-removal
6. 24-month post-surgery The satisfaction will be assessed at implant removal, 6 months post implant removal, and 24 months post-surgery.

The QoL will be assessed at baseline, at 6 months post implant removal, and 24 months post-surgery.

Pain will be assessed at all timepoints. Measurement of pain at the end of the distraction phase, the patient will be requested to report the pain experienced in the past week, at the moment, and during or immediately after the distraction period. At other time points, pain for only at the moment will be captured.

Range of motion (ROM) will be measured at the end of bone healing, and at the 24 months post-surgery.

Lengthening achieved will be measured at the end of bone healing. Any incidence of adverse events will be recorded at any point during the 24-month follow-up period.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 45

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Edo Knijff; Phone Number: +390456719000; Email: EdoKnijff@orthofix.it

Study Locations

• France
  • Occitanie
    • Toulouse, Occitanie, France, 31300
      • Centre hospitalier universitaire (CHU) de Toulouse
      • Contact: Franck Accadbled
      • Principal Investigator: Franck Accadbled
  • Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
    • Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, 13274
      • Hôpital Sainte-Marguerite AP-HM

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

The aim of the study is to have a representative population of FITBONE patients in France, who are cimpliant with the inclusion criteria, during the 1 year enrollment period. Any centre in France that uses FITBONE in their routine clinical practice will be invited and have the opportunity to participate in this study. All centres must systematically and without exception offer every patient being implanted with FITBONE the opportunity to participate in the study, limiting selection bias and increasing the representativeness of this study to the French population.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients aged ≥12 years old, with congenital or acquired lower limb discrepancy greater than 30mm, undergoing femoral or tibia bone lengthening with FITBONE
• Patients with a regular indication for a surgical intervention with FITBONE according to manufacturer IFU
• The patient (or his/her legally acceptable representative) is capable of understanding the content of the Informed Consent Form (ICF)
• The informed consent form is correctly obtained

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with a medical condition that is contraindicated according to the FITBONE instruction for use.
• Patients with any conditions that, in the Investigator's opinion, may interfere with the study execution, including those likely to be lost to follow-up.
• Patients who have any conditions or medical condition that, in the investigator's opinion, may interfere with the study's execution or in which the patient should not participate for safety reasons.
• Patients requiring the application of or have already in-situ concomitant devices that cannot be safely removed (except for permitted concomitant devices).
• Patients participating in other clinical or have taken part in any clinical study in the last 3 months.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Intervention / Treatment

Patients; Patients aged ≥12 years with congenital or acquired lower limb discrepancy, greater than 30mm

Device: FITBONE® Lengthening Nail; The patient is installed on a standard orthopaedic table, intramedullary reaming is performed through a metal working tube. The osteotomy is performed percutaneously and then an osteotome according to the postage-stamp technique. Once the FITBONE lengthening nail is placed in the desired location, it should be connected to the subcutaneous receiver. The receiver should be placed close enough to the skin surface to ensure the energy transfer from the external transmitter. After 5 to 10 days after surgery, the lengthening mechanism is operated by the patient, using the transmitter. An elongation of approximately 1 mm/day takes place. The attending physician determines the rhythm of lengthening in each case. When the desired elongation length is reached, the consolidation phase begins, which is necessary for bone regeneration. The FITBONE lengthening nail can be removed once the bone has consolidated, approximately one to one and a half years after implantation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Describe Patients' Pain by Visual Analog Scale (VAS)	Pain will be measured by the Pain by Visual Analog Scale (VAS), performed by the patient, through the Patient Global Evaluation Assessment and by the physician (Clinical Observer Global Assessment). The VAS for pain ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 representing no pain and 10 representing the worst imaginable pain.	at implant removal date and at 24 months follow-up
Describe Patients' satisfaction	A dedicated patients satisfaction questionnaire has been developed with key opinion leaders (KOLs) and expert groups on the limb leg discrepancy treatment. The satisfaction questionnaire is made of 5 questions, for each question the patient have to reply using the Patient Global Impression of change ranging from 1 to 7, with 1 representing "Very much improved" to 7 being "Very much worse".	at implant removal date and at 24 months follow-up
Describe Patients' patient Quality of Life (QoL) using Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) for adult patients and PedsQL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory) Generic Core Scale for children patients.	The Quality of Life (QoL) will be measured by the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) or PedsQL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory) Generic Core Scale, depending on the patient's age at enrolment: SF-36 for adults and PedsQl for children. Short Form 36 Health Survey has two components: Physical Component Summary (PCS) Minimum 0, Maximum 100; Mental Component Summary (MCS) Minimum 0, Maximum 100. Higher scores on both the Physical and Mental Component Summary scales indicate a better outcome, reflecting better health-related quality of life. The PedsQL Generic Core Scales are scored on a scale of 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better health-related quality of life and 0 represents the worst health-related quality of life.	at implant removal date and at 24 months follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Monitor the clinical safety of Fitbone by collecting and characterizing the complications, expressed as adverse events and device deficiencies, associated with FITBONE	The clinical safety of Fitbone will be measured Collecting and characterizing the complications (expressed as adverse events and device deficiencies) associated with FITBONE that will be assessed by the investigators.	from surgery to 24 months follow-up
Effectiveness of Fitbone by limb lengthening	The lengthening goal is considered 'achieved' when, at the end of bone healing, the limb length is within 5 mm of the lengthening objective defined by the investigator when using FITBONE.	at the end of bone healing, approximately 6 months
Assess satisfaction evolution at implant removal , 6 months after Fitbone removal and at 24 months after surgery	A dedicated patients satisfaction questionnaire has been developed with key opinion leaders (KOLs) and expert groups on the limb leg discrepancy treatment. The satisfaction questionnaire is made of 5 questions, for each question the patient have to reply using the Patient Global Impression of change ranging from 1 to 7, with 1 representing "Very much improved" to 7 being "Very much worse".	from surgery to 24 months follow-up
Describe evolution of QoL at 6 months after Fitbone removal and at 24 months after surgery, compared to baseline	The Quality of Life (QoL) will be measured by the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) or PedsQL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory) Generic Core Scale, depending on the patient's age at enrolment: SF-36 for adults and PedsQl for children. Short Form 36 Health Survey has two components: Physical Component Summary (PCS) Minimum 0, Maximum 100; Mental Component Summary (MCS) Minimum 0, Maximum 100. Higher scores on both the Physical and Mental Component Summary scales indicate a better outcome, reflecting better health-related quality of life. The PedsQL Generic Core Scales are scored on a scale of 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better health-related quality of life and 0 represents the worst health-related quality of life.	from surgery to 24 months follow-up
Describe pain at each visit using VAS	Pain will be measured by the Pain by Visual Analog Scale (VAS), performed by the patient, through the Patient Global Evaluation Assessment and by the physician (Clinical Observer Global Assessment). The VAS for pain ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 representing no pain and 10 representing the worst imaginable pain.	from surgery to 24 months follow-up
Describe patients Range Of Motion (ROM in degrees) evolution at end of bone healing and at 24 months after surgery compared to baseline	The knee range of motion will measured in degree Difference in the range of motion through the passive extension before surgery (baseline) to the end of bone healing, and at 24 months post-surgery	from surgery to 24 months follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Orthofix s.r.l.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): May 15, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 30, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 30, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 22, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 4, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): December 5, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 1, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 28, 2024
• Last Verified: March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Nail; LLD; Intramedullary nailing; Nailing; Intramedullary nail; Fitbone; Bone lengthening; Motorized Nail
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Musculoskeletal Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Anatomical; Bone Diseases; Bone Diseases, Developmental; Leg Length Inequality
• Other Study ID Numbers: OCI_2301; 2023-A02702-43 (Other Identifier: ID-RCB number (France))

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No