METRCMajor Extremity Trauma Research Consortium

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Status: Complete

VANCO

Local Antibiotic Therapy to Reduce Infection After Operative Treatment of Fractures at High Risk of Infection: A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Trial (VANCO Study)

Projected dates of study: Sep 2010 — Mar 2018

Clinical PI: Robert O'Toole, MD

MCC PI: Renan C. Castillo, PhD

Findings

Finding a low-cost, low-risk way to prevent more surgical infections for fracture patients

Even with widespread use of systemic antibiotics, infection was still a big problem after fracture surgery. There was some evidence that the topical antibiotic vancomycin could reduce the risk of surgical site infections, but researchers needed more data to prove it.

The VANCO study provided the large-scale, high-quality evidence practitioners needed to make treatment decisions confidently. The largest study of its kind at the time, VANCO looked at data from 980 patients at 36 U.S. trauma centers. The findings showed that using vancomycin powder directly on the surgical wound offered a low-cost, low-risk way to reduce deep surgical site infections.

As a result of this study, topical vancomycin powder for traumatic injuries was adopted as a clinical practice guideline by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

Study Info

1,036 Patients
Patients Enrolled
35 Sites
Sites Participated
91%
Follow Up

Participating Sites (35)

Barnes-Jewish Hospital at Washington University
Campbell Clinic at University of Tennessee
Carolinas Medical Center
Duke University Hospital
Florida Orthopaedic Institute Combined Site
Hennepin/Regions Combined Site
Inova Fairfax Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
Methodist Hospital
MetroHealth Medical Center
Mission Hospital
Naval Medical Center Portsmouth
Ohio State University Medical Center
Penn State
Rhode Island Hospital Brown University
San Antonio Military Medical Center
Scott and White Memorial Hospital
St. Luke's University Health Network
Temple University Hospital
Texas Tech University
The CORE Institute
University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center
University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Oklahoma
University of Pittsburgh
University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
University of Texas Houston
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
University of Utah
University of Virginia Medical Center
University of Wisconsin
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Wakeforest University Baptist Medical Center