Fractures of Adult metaCarpal shafTS (FACTS)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Surgical and non-surgical treatment for metacarpal shaft fractures in adults: an observational feasibility study
IRAS ID
279115
Contact name
Alexia Karantana
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
The metacarpals lie in the hand, between the wrist and fingers. The shaft is the middle part of the bone. They are very common, making up a third all hand fractures. As they affect people of working age, they have a big impact on society. At the moment, we do not know how best to treat them, so patients receive different care throughout the country.
The best way of finding out is to perform a large-scale trial comparing treatments, which usually costs over a million pounds. So it is very important to make sure the trial is going to work before you start.
This research will assess whether it is possible and how best to carry out a future trial to tell us the most effective way of treating these fractures. This is called a feasibility study and will tell us if a larger study is possible and how it should be run in order to give us an answer.
We will closely follow a group of patients with metacarpal shaft fractures affecting the finger digits treated at two hospitals. We will collect information about the patients, their injury, the treatment they receive and various tests about their hand recovery. This will help us to check whether we are using the right types of tests and following people for the right amount of time. It will also help us to make sure the tests we use are reliable and accurate.
We will conduct interviews and focus groups with selected participants to explore their experiences of the injury, its treatment, their thoughts on taking part in research and the use of digital technology, such as phone applications and social media, in optimising participation and engagement in future research studies.
This study will last for 18 months.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/EE/0124
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion