CMC Arthritis - Neoprene Vs. Thermoplast Short Opponens Splinting - Full Text View

Purpose

Carpometacarpal Thumb Arthritis is a disease caused by different factors and attacks mainly woman older than 50 years. The signs and symptoms consist in pain, swelling, joint instability, deformity and loss of motion. Some evidence has shown that splinting of the thumb may be of benefit. There are two methods of splinting: The first is Standard Neoprene wrap-on thumb support (in which the finger is kept in the same position with in a standard Neoprene thumb splint). The second is Thermoplast Short Opponens splint (This splint is custom-made and the thumb is use as a template to design the splint). The purpose of this study is to test and evaluate these two protocols of splinting and assess which one helps or works better in patients with thumb arthritis.

Condition

Carpometacarpal Thumb Arthritis

U.S. FDA Resources

Study Type:	Observational
Study Design:	Cohort, Prospective

Official Title:	Prospective Randomized Comparison: Neoprene Vs. Thermoplast Short Opponens Splinting. Outcomes After a Five-Week to Sixteen-Week Treatment Trial.

Further study details as provided by Massachusetts General Hospital:

Primary Outcome Measures:

DASH questionnaire [ Time Frame: 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Secondary Outcome Measures:

patient satisfaction [ Time Frame: 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
pinch strength [ Time Frame: 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
grip strength [ Time Frame: 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Estimated Enrollment:	70
Study Start Date:	December 2005

Groups/Cohorts

1

Subjects using the neoprene splint.

2

Subjects using the orthoplast splint.

Detailed Description:

Osteoarthritis of the thumb carpometacarpal joint is a common condition that affects approximately 16% to 25% of postmenopausal woman and causes pain, swelling, instability, deformity and loss of motion. This condition has been staged in 4 periods according to the degree of severity. Mild stages or stages 1 and 2 are usually treated conservatively by stabilization of the joint, which can be aggressively achieved by surgical ligament reconstruction or conservatively with thumb splints. Splinting is a typical treatment for osteoarthritis of the thumb with the goals of managing pain, stabilizing the CMC joint, and improving overall thumb function. There are limited studies showing the effectiveness of splinting for this condition indicating they are successful in decreasing pain and improving function in activities of daily living as well as radiographically improving joint stability. What is less clear is, once patients leave the clinic setting, how compliant they are with their splinting regimen. Patients with chronic illnesses tend to have compliance issues when it comes to their care. Also, there are limited studies comparing different modalities of splinting. A recent study compared custom-made short opponens thermoplastic splint with the metacarpo-phalangeal (MP) joint free to a pre-fabricated short neoprene splint. They found that patients preferred the neoprene splint but both splints provided some degree of pain relief, reduction of subluxation of the MP joint and improvement in function. Our purpose is to objectively quantify the various benefits of splinting for patients with thumb arthritis using the DASH score and assess if there is a difference between the pre-fabricated neoprene splint and the custom-made short opponens thermoplastic splint with the MP included.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	18 Years and older
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	No
Sampling Method:	Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients from the MGH Hand and Upper Extremity service.

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients aged 18 or older.
Males and females diagnosed using clinical criteria as having CMC Thumb Arthritis
Radiological diagnosis is not necessary

Exclusion Criteria:

- Patients with previous history of CMC Thumb Arthritis treated surgically

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00438763

Contacts


Contact: David Ring, MD, PhD	617-724-3953	dring@partners.org

Locations


United States, Massachusetts
	Massachusetts General Hospital	Recruiting
	Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114

Sponsors and Collaborators

Massachusetts General Hospital

Investigators


Principal Investigator:	David Ring, MD, PhD	Massachusetts General Hospital

More Information

Responsible Party:	Mass General Hospital ( David C Ring, MD )
Study ID Numbers:	2005-P-002327
First Received:	February 20, 2007
Last Updated:	May 23, 2008
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00438763
Health Authority:	United States: Institutional Review Board

Keywords provided by Massachusetts General Hospital:

CMC arthritis

splint treatment

patient satisfaction

DASH questionnaire

Study placed in the following topic categories:

Musculoskeletal Diseases

Joint Diseases

Arthritis

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on October 10, 2008

Sponsored by:	Massachusetts General Hospital
Information provided by:	Massachusetts General Hospital
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00438763