View clinical trials related to Perineal Infection.
Filter by:Perineal injury following childbirth can result in complications such as wound infection. The perineum has closely related anatomical structures including the external genital organs and the anal triangle which contains the anal sphincter muscles. Therefore as wound infection can extend and as muscles of the perineum sit in such close proximity to each other, the anal sphincter muscles could potentially be affected. This could also potentially include cases of perineal injury where the anal sphincter was not injured. However ultrasound has never been used to investigate this. Endoanal ultrasound is the gold standard diagnostic tool in the assessment of obstetric anal sphincter injury. The anal sphincter can also be visualised using multiplanar transperineal ultrasound(three/four-dimensional. Therefore both modalities could be used. However, it has been shown that transperineal ultrasound has a high positive predictive value and therefore is able to correctly identify an intact anal sphincter, but low positive predictive value; meaning poor detection of sphincter defects. Therefore, although it cannot completely substitute endoanal ultrasound (the gold standard in investigating obstetric anal sphincter injuries), it provides and adjunct/alternative for women who cannot tolerate endoanal ultrasound. The investigators plan to perform an observational study to evaluate to the natural history of perineal wound infections. Patients will be assessed weekly with endoanal ultrasound and/or transperineal ultrasound until the wound infection has resolved and the wound has clinically healed. If a bacterial wound swab has not been taken prior to recruitment or wound swab results are not available, one will be taken to detect the causative organisms. Appropriate antibiotics will then be given to cover the detected organism. Bacterial burden and will also be measured weekly using the MolecuLight i:X; a bacterial autofluorescence camera which captures the presence and load of bacteria. In wounds that have superficially dehisced; exact wound measurements including wound surface area, depth, volume and healing progress will be precisely measured using the Silhouette® 3D camera
The most common complication of vaginal delivery is perineal tearing with a prevalence of 85% and 70% will need suturing. The caesarean section rate worldwide is rising and the rate in Croydon University Hospital is in the region of 25% of all deliveries. One in ten women will develop a wound infection of their perineal tear or caesarean section wound. Wound infection can cause pain, dehiscence, delayed wound healing, prolonged hospital stay, readmissions and interfere with a woman's ability to nurture their baby and enjoy motherhood. Copper has shown to have strong antimicrobial properties, with the ability to kill various bacteria including MRSA. It has also been shown that copper promotes new blood vessel formation and therefore enhance wound healing. This study is to investigate the effect of copper impregnated dressings and maternity pads on wound infection. Women will be randomised for a wound dressing or maternity pad with (study group) or without copper (control group). Both the clinician and the woman will be blinded to the randomised group. Wound infection will be assessed via a telephone questionnaire after 7, 14 and 30 days after delivery. When wound infection is suspected, based on the questionnaire, a swab of the wound site will be taken to detect the causative bacteria.