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Risk Benefit Ratio of Hirudotherapy: Retrospective Single-center Study of 37 Cases Over a Period of 9 Years

NCT04676581 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 37

Last updated 2020-12-21

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Venous congestion in transplanted or re-implanted tissues remains a common and chal-lenging complication in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Local application of medicinal leeches is effective to reduce postoperative venous congestion of the flap and to restore normal blood flow. However, leech therapy is associated with a number of risks, including infections. Indeed, leeches maintain a symbiotic relationship with Aeromonas species in order to digest blood in their gut. Aeromonas spp. infections can occur 1 to 30 days post-application of leeches and are associated with a dramatic decrease in flap salvage rates (88 to 30%). For these reasons, prophylactic antibiotics and, external decontamination are widely recommended throughout the course of leech therapy.

The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of side effects (anemia and infection) from patients treated with leeches in French Hospital.

Conditions

  • Leeches
  • Healthcare Associated Infection

Interventions

OTHER

Leech Therapy

Patient who received leeches (for more than 2 days) at the Amiens University Hospital over a period of 9 years (2010-2018)

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Amiens

    lead OTHER

Eligibility

Min Age
6 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2020-12-15
Primary Completion
2020-12-15
Completion
2020-12-15

Countries

  • France

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04676581 on ClinicalTrials.gov