Clinical Research Directory

Rotator Cuff Repairs With or Without BioEnthesis™ Augmentation

Rotator cuff (RC) injuries are particularly prevalent, difficult to repair, and attachment between the bone and tendon is notoriously difficult to achieve. The most common method and current standard of care (SOC) for reattaching connective tissues (e.g., ligaments, tendons) to bone typically involves suture anchor-based techniques, but this is fraught with problems. More specifically, re-tearing of the connective tissue after this procedure occurs in 30-60% of cases, and can be even higher in patients who engage in smoking, have a diagnosis of diabetes, etc. To address these clinical challenges, Sparta Biopharma Inc. (Sparta) developed a unique technology, called BioEnthesis, to improve the connection between the tendon and bone. Pre-clinical in vivo studies demonstrated that the biphasic bovine cancellous matrix regenerated at the bone-soft tissue interface-thereby leading to high structural integrity and will likely lead to reduced re-tear rates over time. The investigators hypothesize that patients in this interventional cohort will experience enhanced mobility, reduced pain, and less re-tears after RC procedures versus a standard suture anchor-based repair.

Comparative Study Between Immediate Surgery Versus Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Management of Resectable Pancreatic Cancer

This trial aimed to determine whether neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy improves overall survival compared with upfront surgery, both followed by adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with resectable and borderline resectable pancreatic cancer.

The PROAKTIVE Trial

The PRO-Active rehabilitation prior to Kidney Transplantation to ImproVe patient-centered recovery Evaluation trial tests an approach where people are supported to exercise, improve diet, and receive emotional support at home before and after kidney transplant surgery to understand the ideal process and benefits.

Permissive Hypotension After Cardiac Surgery

The objective of this pilot randomized controlled trial is to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing a pragmatic clinical trial randomizing patients to permissive hypotension versus usual care and to determine the impact of permissive hypotension on vasopressor exposure, ICU length of stay, markers of end organ perfusion, and clinically relevant patient outcomes. The data collected from this pilot study will be used as preliminary data for study design and grant applications for a larger multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Liberal Transfusion Strategy in Elderly Patients

In this prospective, multicentre, open, randomised, controlled clinical trial elderly patients (≥ 70 years) undergoing intermediate- or high-risk non-cardiac surgery will be randomised either to a liberal group (patients receive a RBC unit each time Hb falls ≤ 9 g/dl (≤ 5.6mmol/l) with a target range for the post-transfusion Hb level of 9-10.5 g/dl (5.6-6.5 mmol/l)) or restrictive group (patients receive a single RBC unit each time Hb falls ≤ 7.5 g/dl (≤ 4.7 mmol/l) with a target range for the post-transfusion Hb level of 7.5-9 g/dl (4.7-5.6 mmol/l). Primary efficacy endpoint: is a composite of death from any cause and anaemia-associated, ischaemic events (defined as acute myocardial infarction, acute ischaemic stroke, acute kidney injury stage III, acute mesenteric ischaemia, acute peripheral vascular ischaemia) within 90 days after surgery.

The Effect of Progressive Relaxation Exercises With Therapeutic Clown

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of progressive relaxation exercises, performed with the assistance of a therapeutic clown during the pre-operative period, on fear, anxiety and physiological parameters in children. This randomised controlled trial included children aged 6-10 years undergoing circumcision surgery. The children were randomised into three groups: a progressive relaxation exercise group led by a therapeutic clown, a progressive relaxation group led by a nurse, and a control group. Fear, anxiety and physiological parameters (heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation) were assessed before and after the procedure.

Erector Spinae Block Versus Combined Pecto-intercostal and Recto-intercostal Fascial Plane Block in Cardiac Surgery

The aim of this study is to compare the analgesic effects of ultrasound-guided bilateral erector spinae plane block versus ultrasound-guided bilateral combined Pecto-intercostal fascial plane block and recto-intercostal fascial plane block in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Ethyl Chloride Spray to Reduce Pain From Local Anesthesia During Mohs Micrographic Surgery

Fear of needles is a well-documented issue that affects many patients. This fear may cause significant anxiety in various medical situations, including in the dermatology office 1. If not properly managed, needle phobia can persist, affecting a patient's experience during each visit. This effect may compound and lead to avoidance behaviors that can delay necessary treatments 2. This issue is particularly relevant in a Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) clinic where each patient experiences several painful needle injections before the day is over. Ethyl chloride is gaining popularity among dermatologists for its routine use in clinical practice due to its anesthetic and antiseptic properties, especially as a pre-injection agent. Research indicates that cryotherapy or pre-cooling the skin before administering a local anesthetic may offer benefits over topical anesthetics, such as enhanced pain relief, quicker onset, and better patient compliance 3,4. However, to our knowledge, no studies have specifically examined the effectiveness of pre-cooling with ethyl chloride prior to Mohs micrographic surgery. To address this gap, we're conducting a trial aimed at evaluating the impact of pre-cooling with ethyl chloride on pain perception in adult patients undergoing Mohs micrographic surgery with local anesthetic injections. The trial is a single-center, split-body study. The split-body design will involve dividing the surgical site into two equal halves, with one half (right side relative to patient) designated as the treatment side (receiving ethyl chloride spray prior to lidocaine injection) and the other as the control side (no ethyl chloride spray prior to injection). During the procedure, the participant will be asked to rate the pain associated with the needle injection AND the pain from infiltration of anesthetic from each side of the wound using the visual analog scale (VAS) scoring system (1 = no pain, 10 = most amount of pain possible). The results of the study will help us better understand how to mitigate pain and anxiety for patients requiring MMS.

Intraoperative Neuromonitoring (IONM) and Bipolar Electrocautery (BE) During Axillary Lymph Node Dissection (ALND)

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the implementation of existing neurosurgical techniques of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) and the replacement of monopolar electrocautery with bipolar electrocautery (BE), during ALND, will improve the early identification of nerves that have been implicated in the cause of neuropathically-mediated post-surgical pain syndrome (PSPS).

Efficacy and Safety of Intravenous Lidocaine Versus Placebo in Patients Receiving Morphine-rachi Analgesia

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the superiority of IV lidocaine combined with morphine spinal anesthesia versus placebo combined with morphine spinal anesthesia, in reducing postoperative morphine consumption at 48 hours, in patients undergoing major digestive or abdominal surgery by laparotomy.

Optimizing Patient-centred Outcomes Using Opioid Minimization Strategies: The OPUS Anesthesia Pilot Trial

Up to 40% of patients experience suboptimal recovery in the days following major surgery, limiting their return to functional independence. Few preventive interventions exist, but intravenous dexmedetomidine and lidocaine administered during general anesthesia represent simple strategies that may significantly impact recovery and other patient-centred outcomes after surgery. The goal of this pilot trial is to determine the feasibility of conducting a phase 3 pragmatic adaptive multicentre trial to evaluate the impact of dexmedetomidine and lidocaine administered during major non-cardiac surgery on patient-centred outcomes.

Inflatable Penile Prostheses : Which Patients Can Correctly Use the Scrotal Pump ?

Sexual health and satisfaction are well know as critical critera to assess quality of life, at any age. Among the multiple aspects of sexual health, erectile dysfunction (ED) is not anymore a fate, mainly thanks to the advent of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors in 1998. Nevertheless, a significant part of patients are intolerant or does not respond to PDE5 inhibitors and thus are looking for other treatment options. Since the first implantation of foreign material intracarvernosally in 1966 by Beheri, multiple modifications and enhancements were achieved in order to produce devices more reliable with a more natural appearance. First introduced in 1973 by Scott et al., inflatable prosthesis provides now high general satisfaction rates (69-94%), better than in malleable prostheses, except for few authors. In addition to changes in materials and construction, the two main manufacturers of IPP, Boston scientific AMS (Marlborough, MA, USA) and Coloplast (Minneapolis, MN, USA), modernized the pump mechanism of their devices. Since the introduction of AMS IPP, three main pump formats have been used : the standard pump has been replaced in 2004 by the " Tactile " pump and then the " Momentary Squeeze " (MS) pump in 2006, smaller and easier to deflate by not requiring the patient to hold the deflation button throughout deflation. Coloplast also replaced in 2008 their " Genesis " pump by a " One Touch Release " (OTR) pump, and finally in 2014 by the current " Touch " pump, smaller, and presenting a biconcave deflation button, easier to find. Despite all technological advances, appropriate pre-operative counselling and careful post-operative teachning, a significant part of patients has still difficulties to handle the pump and thus, does not use their IPP, regardless of any material malfunction. That situation obviously leads to patient's dissatisfaction and highlights the operating risks of a useless surgical procedure. The purposes of this study were:to identify the risks factors, modifiable and non-modifiable, for patients' difficulty to inflate and/or deflate their device after IPP implantation, then to show a correlation between easy handling and post-operative satisfaction. And last but not least, to show an association between pre-operative pump pattern viewing and handling and post-operative easy handling. That information could help the physicians to improve the pre-operative selection of patients and to adapt the peri-operative care in order to improve patients satisfaction.

Adapting Enhanced Recovery Programs for Low Health Literacy Patients

Low health literacy patients are a vulnerable population at high-risk for surgical disparities including longer hospital stays, more complications, and more readmissions. This study will adapt enhanced recovery programs (ERPs) to low health literacy patients with a multilevel, health literacy-based implementation strategy (called VISACT - VISuAl aids, Coach providers in communication, and Train organizations in health literacy) to improve ERP fidelity and thereby outcomes. In the final aim of this project (Specific Aim 3), the VISACT intervention will be tested in a pilot trial. Findings from this study will lay the foundation for a multi-institutional stepped-wedge trial and establish key principles for adapting interventions to eliminate disparities.

FOCUS Pre-Post Study

The Facilitating Goal-based Conversations for Understanding Surgery (FOCUS) Guide is a communication intervention designed to support discussion and documentation of the goal for surgery during outpatient surgical consultations. The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of the FOCUS guide in prompting discussion of the goal for surgery.

A Study of Opportunistic Salpingectomy to Prevent Ovarian Cancer

The purpose of this study is to find out how many participants are interested in a surgical preventive procedure after watching an educational video. Before and after watching the video, participants will complete questionnaires in the clinic.

Postoperative Pain of Robotic, Endoscopic and Open Lateral Neck Dissection

Postoperative pain is a good indicator to confirm the advantages of the surgical methods in the era of minimally invasive surgery. Lateral neck dissection requires extensive dissection which may leads to postoperative numbness and pain. Robotic thyroid surgery has the advantage of precise and careful dissection and avoid the L-shape incision in the open approach. The study aims to explore the pain intensity and severity of lateral neck dissection on operation day, postoperative month 1 and postoperative month 3 among the robotic, endoscopic and open approach.

Impact of a Double-reading Animated Film (Child, Parents) in Preoperative on the Anxiety of Children Upon Arrival at the Operating Room

Preoperative anxiety affects 40 to 60% of children. A literature review concluded that effective preparation strategies must involve parents, must be appropriate to their age and proposed upstream of the intervention. A double-readinganimated film aimed at informative was created for the children and their parents/legal guardians in order to solve the problem of anxiety found at the arrival of children in the operating room.

Validation of RPVi as a Parameter to Predict Fluid Responsiveness

This is a prospective, nonrandomized, sequential data collection study to evaluate the ability of RPVi to predict fluid responsiveness in comparison with other dynamic parameters including stroke volume variation (SVV) and/or pulse pressure variation (PPV).

Haemodynamic and Respiratory Effects of a Low Positive End Expiratory Pressure Associated With a Fluid Challenge in Knee-chest Position

The genu pectoral position is a surgical position used for spine surgery. This surgical position will lead to physiological hemodynamic and respiratory changes during the procedure. The knee-pectoral position notably induces an increase in CRF and improves pulmonary ventilation/perfusion ratios. On the other hand, it has been shown that it is accompanied by a reduction in cardiac output of approximately 15% Protective perioperative ventilation including a tidal volume between 6 and 8 ml/kg of theoretical ideal weight, PEEP and alveolar recruitment maneuvers is applied in the operating room to reduce postoperative pulmonary complications. The application of high PEEP and the performance of recruitment maneuvers induce arterial hypotension through changes in intra- and transpulmonary pressures. However, investigators hypothesize that the deleterious hemodynamic effects of PEEP seem to counterbalance its beneficial respiratory effects in this particular position. The combination of the effects of the knee-pectoral position and protective ventilation could be potentiated and be the cause of the sometimes severe arterial hypotension observed in clinical practice. Since this position improves pulmonary ventilation perfusion ratios, the investigators hypothesized that a lower PEEP and the elimination of intraoperative recruitment maneuvers could be beneficial from a hemodynamic point of view without being deleterious in terms of perioperative pulmonary complications. An exploratory study was carried out at the CAEN University Hospital in 2021 under the name PEEP POSTURE (CLERS Agreement No. 2198 of February 17, 2021) on 90 patients aiming to collect hemodynamic and respiratory parameters in 3 surgical positions: supine decubitus, ventral decubitus , pectoral genu. No difference was found in the evolution of respiratory compliance. On the other hand, a significant drop in SBP, DBP and MAP in the pectoral position was shown compared to the supine group as well as greater vascular filling. The investigators therefore hypothesize that a reduction in PEEP and optimization of vascular filling could help reduce the adverse effects on blood pressure linked to the surgical position.

Continuous Non-Invasive SpHb and PVI Monitoring on Intra-Operative and Post-Surgical Clinical Outcomes

The study evaluates the use of noninvasive hemoglobin with In Vivo feature and PVi monitoring using pulse-oximetry based technologies and their effect on the management of transfusion and infusion decisions and clinical outcomes for the surgical patient.

Study Evaluating the Success Rate of Outpatient Management of the Total Benign Hysterectomy by Transvaginal Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (vNOTES) Compared to Each of the Two Laparoscopic Routes (Conventional and Robot-assisted).

Benign total hysterectomy is one of the most commonly performed gynecological surgery. Conventionally performed by a classical surgical approach, it is now provided routinely and for several years by laparoscopy and more recently by Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopy. A third minimally invasive option is currently being developed and proposed to avoid trans-peritoneal access, using a vaginal trans-laparoscopic technique, defined by the name V-NOTES (Vaginal-Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery). These minimally invasive approaches have simplified this intervention on many surgical and anesthetic parameters (signing, surgical trauma, pain and post-operative ileus, recovery of autonomy) and consider possible management in the outpatient sector. This study aims at enrolling women for which a total hysterectomy with or without annexectomy for the treatment of a benign pathology must be scheduled. The objective of the study is to compare the success rate of outpatient treatment of the V-Notes route and the conventional laparoscopic route and to compare the success rate of outpatient treatment of the V-Notes route and the laparoscopic route assisted robot.

Assessment of the Feasibility and Organisational Impact of a Care Pathway Incorporating the MultiSense® Medical Device for Post-operative Home Monitoring of Elderly Patients.

Assessing the clinical and organisational impact of a home-based post-operative monitoring strategy incorporating the MultiSense® device involving 80 patients aged 65 years and over who have undergone major surgery.

TRANScriptional Pathways Of Surgical Pain Modulated by Music Therapy Exposure (TRANSPOSE)

Participants may take part in this study if they are scheduled to undergo a surgery that meets the following: (1) traditional open surgery via laparotomy, (2) length of surgery \>3 hours, and (3) curative-intent surgical resection of a cancer in the stomach, pancreas, bile ducts, liver, or peritoneal surfaces. The purpose of this study is (1) to evaluate the feasibility of collecting blood samples prior to surgery, post-surgery and pre- music-assisted relaxation and imagery (MARI) intervention, and immediately post-MARI intervention and (2) to identify gene expression changes associated with MARI and explore their relationship with immediate changes in pain intensity. Participants will be in this study for the duration of their hospital admission for surgery.

Exercise Prehabilitation for Patients With NSCLC Before Surgery

To explore the safety and compliance of a wearable telemedicine device that can receive basic vital signs in real time, and its active supervision mode with real-time adjustment of exercise prescription for preoperative prehabilitation exercises in patients at home; and to evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative prehabilitation exercises in a telemedicine active supervision mode in patients undergoing thoracoscopic lung tumour resection, taking into account the patient's cardiopulmonary exercise test, postoperative complications and quality of life scores.