Patient perception on using salt treatment at their tube site
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Patient perception of the effectiveness and use of salt as a treatment for overgranulation at their gastrostomy tube site.
IRAS ID
268267
Contact name
Jane Hopkinson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University, College of Biomedical & Life Sciences
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 25 days
Research summary
Patients living at home with Gastrostomy feeding tubes in place can sometimes experience site complications. A common complication is overgranulation (excess cell production at the site) which can cause discomfort, may bleed or cause discharge. There are a variety of different treatments that can be used to attempt to reduce overgranulation. These include steroid ointments or dressings which require prescriptions. However, a simple, inexpensive treatment is the use of household salt, applied twice daily to the overgranulation tissue for one week. This can be started immediately with written instructions to support appropriate application. There are few side effects although it may cause pain for some patients and would then be stopped. A small group of adult patients, 10 per annum, have used this salt treatment in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board with data collected before and after salt application. The majority of these patients had positive results with either reduction or complete resolution of the overgranulation. The aim of this project is to research the patient's perception on the use of salt, it's effectiveness and ease of self-management with this treatment. Patients’ feedback would be collected on this treatment approach. As no prescription needs to be issued, this treatment is timelier and easier for the patient to manage than the use of steroid ointment or dressings. The study results would be used to update Cardiff and Vale University Health Board guidelines and policy and as a trial for potential further research into this area.
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 2
REC reference
19/ES/0132
Date of REC Opinion
12 Nov 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion