Wound Healing, Dressing Type, and Dressing Change Frequency in THA (CAP-HIP)

June 12, 2026 updated by: Nemanja Gvozdenović, Clinical Center of Vojvodina

Impact of Dressing Type and Dressing Change Frequency on Surgical Wound Healing Following Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty

Surgical wound complications following primary total hip arthroplasty remain a significant clinical challenge despite advances in wound care technologies. The optimal choice of dressing and frequency of dressing changes remain insufficiently investigated, particularly regarding their influence on wound healing and the wound microenvironment.

This prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial aims to evaluate the impact of dressing type and dressing change frequency on surgical wound healing in patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty. Ninety patients will be allocated into three treatment groups receiving either a capillary-action dressing system (VACUTEX™) or standard dressings with different dressing change intervals.

The study will assess time to complete wound epithelialization, postoperative wound complications, pain intensity, wound temperature, exudate pH, length of hospital stay, and time to suture removal. In addition, the study will investigate the potential role of wound temperature and exudate pH as early indicators of impaired healing and postoperative complications.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study will be designed as a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial conducted at the Clinic for Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, University Clinical Centre of Vojvodina. A total of 90 patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty will be enrolled and randomly allocated into three parallel treatment groups using block randomization.

The participants will receive one of the following wound care protocols:

Group 1: VACUTEX™ capillary-action dressing, changed every 4 days until suture removal.

Group 2: Standard dressing with Octenisept® aqueous solution, changed every 3 days until suture removal.

Group 3: Standard dressing with Octenisept® aqueous solution, changed every 2 days until suture removal.

Baseline demographic and clinical data, including age, sex, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, smoking status, previous orthopedic procedures, and preoperative laboratory parameters (blood glucose, HbA1c, and C-reactive protein), will be collected at admission.

The primary outcome will be time to complete wound epithelialization, defined as the number of days from surgery to complete wound closure without exudate, dehiscence, signs of infection, or need for additional wound interventions.

Secondary outcomes will include:

Incidence of local postoperative wound complications (surgical site infection, dehiscence, seroma, and hematoma according to CDC criteria); Postoperative pain intensity assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS); Local wound temperature; Wound exudate pH; Length of hospital stay; Time to suture removal. Initial wound assessment will be performed immediately after wound closure in the operating room (postoperative day 0). Subsequent assessments will be conducted at each scheduled dressing change according to the assigned treatment protocol. Wound temperature will be measured using a non-contact infrared thermometer, while exudate pH will be determined using a calibrated digital pH meter. Pain intensity will be evaluated at each assessment using the VAS.

Participants will be followed throughout hospitalization and during outpatient visits up to 30 days after surgery. In cases of wound-related complications, follow-up will be extended up to 90 postoperative days.

Data will be recorded in standardized case report forms and entered into a dedicated database for statistical analysis. Statistical analyses will be performed using IBM SPSS Statistics software. Appropriate parametric and non-parametric tests, repeated-measures analyses, survival analysis (Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression), and multivariable regression models will be used according to the type and distribution of the collected data. A p-value <0.05 will be considered statistically significant.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

90

Phase

  • 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 Backup

Study Locations

  • Serbia
      • Novi Sad, Serbia, 21000
        • Recruiting
        • Clinic for Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, University Clinical Center of Vojvodina
        • 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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients scheduled for primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) Age ≥ 65 years Ability to provide informed consent Patients with closed surgical incision suitable for standard postoperative wound care

Exclusion Criteria:

Revision hip arthroplasty Active infection at the time of surgery Immunosuppressive therapy or severe immunodeficiency Known allergy to dressing materials used in the study Severe peripheral vascular disease affecting wound healing Inability to comply with follow-up protocol

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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: VACUTEX™ group
Patients receive wound care using the VACUTEX™ capillary action dressing system with dressing changes performed every 4 days until wound closure (suture removal).
Device: VACUTEX™ wound dressing
A capillary action-based wound management system designed for continuous removal of exudate without the use of external negative pressure, maintaining a moist wound environment and minimizing dressing adherence to the wound surface.
Active Comparator: Standard dressing - 3-day change
Patients receive standard wound care using Octenisept® solution with sterile dressing, with dressing changes performed every 3 days until wound closure (suture removal).
Procedure: Octenisept® wound care dressing
Standard postoperative wound care involving application of Octenisept® aqueous solution and sterile dressing for surgical wound management.
Active Comparator: Standard dressing - 2-day change
Patients receive standard wound care using Octenisept® solution with sterile dressing, with dressing changes performed every 2 days until wound closure (suture removal).
Procedure: Octenisept® wound care dressing
Standard postoperative wound care involving application of Octenisept® aqueous solution and sterile dressing for surgical wound management.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time to complete wound epithelialization
Time Frame: Postoperative day 30 (90 or more in case of wound complications according to CDC criteria)
Time (in days) from surgery to complete wound epithelialization, defined as complete clinical closure of the surgical incision without exudate, dehiscence, or visible wound gaps, as assessed by clinical examination.
Postoperative day 30 (90 or more in case of wound complications according to CDC criteria)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Clinical Center of Vojvodina

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Andrijana Ćorić, Faculty of Mediicne, University of Novi Sad
  • Study Director: Nemanja Gvozdenović, Faculty of Mediicne, University of Novi Sad; Clinic for Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, University Clinical Center of Vojvodina

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

May 25, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 12, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 12, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 12, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 00-37/20

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

IPD will not be shared publicly. Only aggregated and anonymized study results will be published in scientific journals and presented at conferences.

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.

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