Impact of Perioperative Antibiotic Use on Surgical Scarring (PASS)

July 30, 2026 updated by: Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University

Perioperative Antibiotic Use and Its Impact on Postoperative Scarring: A Retrospective Study

This retrospective observational cohort study will evaluate whether perioperative antibiotic use is associated with long-term surgical scar outcomes. The study will include adult patients who underwent body surface surgery at Nanfang Hospital between January 1, 2005 and January 1, 2025 and have available surgical, medication, and scar-related clinical records.

The study will not assign participants to any treatment. Researchers will review existing medical records, perioperative antibiotic exposure, surgical characteristics, complications, and scar assessments or photographs. Scar outcomes will be assessed using modified visual analogue scale scores, scar width, scar type, and scar-related complications.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

5000

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 Locations

  • China
    • Guangdong
      • Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510515
        • Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University
        • 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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population will include adult patients who underwent body surface surgery at Nanfang Hospital between January 1, 2005 and January 1, 2025, developed a linear surgical incision scar, and later presented to the Department of Plastic Surgery for scar-related care. Eligible patients must have available surgical records, perioperative medication records, and scar outcome information.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 years or older.
  • Underwent body surface surgery at Nanfang Hospital between January 1, 2005 and January 1, 2025, with a linear surgical incision scar.
  • Presented to the Department of Plastic Surgery at Nanfang Hospital for surgical scar-related care.
  • Had no medical encounter record at Nanfang Hospital from January 1, 2025 to the time of study screening.
  • Available clear surgical records and perioperative medication records.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Known tendency for pathological scarring or scar constitution.
  • History of chronic skin disease in the surgical area, such as psoriasis or eczema.
  • Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, malnutrition, hypoalbuminemia, or long-term use of immunosuppressive agents or glucocorticoids.
  • Target scar received any scar-specific treatment after surgery, such as laser therapy, radiotherapy, drug injection, or surgical revision.

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Retrospective Surgical Scar Cohort
Adult patients who underwent body surface surgery at Nanfang Hospital between January 1, 2005 and January 1, 2025 and have available surgical records, perioperative medication records, and scar outcome information.
Other: Perioperative Antibiotic Exposure
Patterns of perioperative antibiotic use documented in existing medical records, including timing, indication, antibiotic type, duration, frequency, and route of administration. No antibiotic treatment will be assigned or provided by the study.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Overall Scar Appearance Score Assessed Using a Modified Visual Analogue Scale
Time Frame: Scar photographs were taken during postoperative clinical follow-up, with an overall range from 3 months to 20 years after surgery. Given the wide span, the assessments will be stratified and reported according to the actual time of photography, for exam
Overall scar appearance will be evaluated from scar photographs by three blinded physicians or trained study personnel using a modified visual analogue scale. Scores range from 1 to 10, with 1 indicating appearance similar to normal skin and 10 indicating the worst imaginable scar appearance.
Scar photographs were taken during postoperative clinical follow-up, with an overall range from 3 months to 20 years after surgery. Given the wide span, the assessments will be stratified and reported according to the actual time of photography, for exam

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Scar Color Score Assessed Using a Modified Visual Analogue Scale
Time Frame: Scar photographs were taken during postoperative clinical follow-up, with an overall range from 3 months to 20 years after surgery. Given the wide span, the assessments will be stratified and reported according to the actual time of photography, for exam
Scar color will be evaluated from scar photographs by three blinded physicians or trained study personnel using a modified visual analogue scale. Scores range from 1 to 10, with lower scores indicating color more similar to normal skin and higher scores indicating worse scar color.
Scar photographs were taken during postoperative clinical follow-up, with an overall range from 3 months to 20 years after surgery. Given the wide span, the assessments will be stratified and reported according to the actual time of photography, for exam
Scar Texture Score Assessed Using a Modified Visual Analogue Scale
Time Frame: Scar photographs were taken during postoperative clinical follow-up, with an overall range from 3 months to 20 years after surgery. Given the wide span, the assessments will be stratified and reported according to the actual time of photography, for exam
Scar texture will be evaluated from scar photographs by three blinded physicians or trained study personnel using a modified visual analogue scale. Scores range from 1 to 10, with lower scores indicating texture more similar to normal skin and higher scores indicating worse scar texture.
Scar photographs were taken during postoperative clinical follow-up, with an overall range from 3 months to 20 years after surgery. Given the wide span, the assessments will be stratified and reported according to the actual time of photography, for exam
Scar Width
Time Frame: Scar photographs were taken during postoperative clinical follow-up, with an overall range from 3 months to 20 years after surgery. Given the wide span, the assessments will be stratified and reported according to the actual time of photography, for exam
Scar width will be calculated from scar photographs by outlining the scar boundary and using ImageJ to measure scar area and scar length. Scar width will be calculated as scar area divided by scar length.
Scar photographs were taken during postoperative clinical follow-up, with an overall range from 3 months to 20 years after surgery. Given the wide span, the assessments will be stratified and reported according to the actual time of photography, for exam
Scar-Related Complications
Time Frame: Postoperative days 0 to 30 (inclusive). The timing of each complication was determined from medical records.
Scar-related complications will be identified from medical records and scar assessments, including wound dehiscence, suture reaction, necrosis, hematoma, infection, persistent itching, persistent pain, and sensory abnormalities.
Postoperative days 0 to 30 (inclusive). The timing of each complication was determined from medical records.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University

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)

August 3, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 15, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 23, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 30, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 3, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 3, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 30, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • NFEC-2026-164
  • MR-44-26-022534 (Other Identifier: National Health Commission, China)

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.

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