WithdrawnPhase 3

Topical Microporous Polysaccharide Hemospheres Versus Electrocautery for Control of Pediatric Post-Tonsillectomy Bleeding

Stopped: PI moving to another institution

United States0Started 2009-07

Plain-language summary

The ultimate goal of this work is to establish a method for control bleeding after tonsillectomy in awake children. Treatment of post-tonsillectomy bleeding in children typically requires general anesthesia with currently used electrocautery techniques. Micropolysaccharide hemosphere technology is a unique absorbable agent that helps clot form. These hemospheres consist of 100% purified plant starch that enhances natural clotting by concentrating blood solids such as platelets, red blood cells, and blood proteins on the particle surfaces to form a gelled matrix. This device provides painless, non-irritating control of bleeding, and has been used effectively for control of nosebleeds in awake adult patients. This device, however, has not been tested in the tonsillar fossae in children; thus, this study is performed to determine if at least 50% of children with bleeding tonsillar fossae can be spared rescue treatment with electrocautery.

Who can participate

Age range5 Years – 18 Years

SexALL

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Inclusion criteria

✓. Children and adolescents age 5-18 years old. The lower age range is chosen in order to spare younger, smaller children who have less circulating volume to decrease any potential unwarranted risks of increased bleeding. The upper age range is chosen because our ultimate focus is to determine whether this therapy can help the pediatric population prevent the need for electrocautery under anesthesia for tonsil-related bleeding.
✓. Obstructive sleep disorder symptomatology requiring surgical intervention. The presence of obstructive sleep disorder is determined according to the practice of the otolaryngologist investigator, and includes at least two of the following: medical history, physical exam findings, nasopharyngoscopy, lateral x-ray, sleep videotape, or polysomnography. In addition, the mean survey score on the OSD-6 (which is an instrument validated in children with obstructive sleep disorder (See Figure 2)) is at least 3, which corresponds to a moderate degree of symptoms (0 no symptoms, 6 symptoms could not be worse).
✓. Tonsillar or adenotonsillar hypertrophy. Tonsillar hypertrophy is defined as at least 3+ tonsillar hypertrophy on a scale of 1+ to 4+, with the following definition of grades of obstruction determined by visual inspection: 1+ 0-25%, 2+ 26-50%, 3+ 51-75%, 4+ 76-100%.
✓. Bilateral microdebrider tonsillotomy. This method of surgery is chosen because it (1) is a standard technique utilized by the surgeons involved in this study as treatment of obstructive tonsillar hypertrophy and (2) results in a relatively uniform, reproducible bleeding surface that requires hemostasis following tonsil removal.

Exclusion criteria

What they're measuring

Primary outcome measure: Adequacy of intraoperative hemostasis, as evaluated by the following metrics: 1. Requirement for rescue hemostasis. 2. Time to complete hemostasis.

Timeframe: 0-14 days postoperatively

Trial details

NCT IDNCT00945412

SponsorMassachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

Sponsor typeOTHER

Study typeINTERVENTIONAL

Primary completion2011-06

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