Packing of perianal abscess cavities study.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Packing of Perianal Abscess Cavities (PPAC) Study: multi-centre observational feasibility study.
IRAS ID
124538
Contact name
James Hill
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester Foundation NHS Trust
Research summary
A perianal abscess is a collection of pus at or near the back passage (anus) caused by an infection. This usually causes severe pain. The treatment is an urgent operation to cut the skin over the abscess and drain the pus. When the pus has been drained, a cavity remains. This is normally packed with an internal dressing. The pack is changed regularly until the cavity heals, which takes between two and eight weeks. Patients are usually discharged on the day after surgery and ongoing dressing changes are performed by a treatment room nurse or district nurse.
Although the use of an internal dressing (pack) is standard treatment in the UK, there is little evidence that it is beneficial. Dressing changes can cause discomfort and inconvenience for patients and may be an unnecessary cost for the NHS. The purpose of this study is to collect information about the current treatment, natural history, and impact on quality of life of perianal abscesses. This information will be essential to prepare for a larger study where we will compare packing and non-packing of the abscess cavity. We want to find out how the treatment affects patients lives, and how and when is best to record the data in order to help design the trial.
We propose to identify patients who have had an emergency incision and drainage operation for a primary perianal abscess from around ten NHS hospitals across the north west of England and to invite them to be involved in the study on the first day after their operation. We propose to follow these patients up for six months during which time we will gather information on pain, quality of life, number of dressing changes, time to healing, abscess recurrance, delayed healing rates and time to return to work or normal activity.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/NW/0552
Date of REC Opinion
1 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion