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Inguinal HerniaNCT00263250

Watchful Waiting Versus Open Tension-free Repair of Inguinal Hernia in Asymptomatic or Minimally Symptomatic Men

A study testing watchful waiting or tension-free hernia repair in people with Inguinal Hernia, run by Creighton University at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This is a multicenter clinical trial to compare pain, physical function, and other outcomes in men with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic inguinal hernias randomly assigned to watchful waiting without an operation, or a standard hernia repair with mesh. We studied the safety of delaying operation. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older, men only
Conditions the study is for
Inguinal Hernia
What is being tested?
watchful waiting or tension-free hernia repair
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
How many people
724 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Feb 1999to Feb 2005
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • Men only
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Inclusion Criteria: men 18 years of age and older with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic inguinal hernias who give informed consent to be randomized.

-

Exclusion Criteria:Presence of pain limiting usual activities, difficulty in reducing hernia within last 6 weeks, undetectable hernias, local or systemic infection, ASA physical status >3, or participation in another clinical trial.

-

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • American College of Surgeons

    Chicago, Illinois, 60610

Other trials in United States

About this study

This is a multicenter clinical trial to compare pain, physical function, and other outcomes in men with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic inguinal hernias randomly assigned to watchful waiting without an operation, or a standard hernia repair with mesh. We studied the safety of delaying operation.

Read the detailed description

CONTEXT Many men with an inguinal hernia have minimal symptoms. Whether deferring operation is safe and a good option for some patients has not been assessed.

OBJECTIVE To compare pain and the Physical Component Score (PCS) of the SF-36 at two years in men with minimally symptomatic inguinal hernias randomized to watchful waiting (WW) or a standard tension-free hernia repair (TFR).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS. Between January, 1999 and December, 2004 we conducted a multicenter trial of 720 men (364 WW, 356 TFR) who were followed for 2-4.5 years. Men were excluded with hernia pain interfering with activities; undetectable hernias; infection; American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status >3; recent difficulty in reducing the hernia.

INTERVENTIONS Men assigned to WW were followed at 6 months and annually and watched for hernia symptoms. Men assigned to operation received TFR, and were followed at 3 and 6 months, and annually.

Conditions
Inguinal Hernia
Being tested
watchful waiting or tension-free hernia repair
Keywords
inguinal hernia, asymptomatic, watchful waiting, tension-free hernia repair
Medical subject headings
Hernia, Inguinal

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • watchful waiting or tension-free hernia repairProcedure or surgery

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Pain limiting usual activities at two years.

  2. Physical function (PCS) at two years.

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. Complications

  2. patient-reported outcomes of pain, functional status, activity levels, and satisfaction with care.

  3. Cost effectiveness.

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted8 Dec 2005 (estimated)
  2. Study startFeb 1999
  3. Primary completionDec 2004
  4. Study completionFeb 2005

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
724 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00263250
Sponsor's protocol ID
R01HS009860
Status last verified
Jun 2013
First submitted
6 Dec 2005
Last updated
1 Jul 2013
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Publications

  • Fitzgibbons RJ Jr, Giobbie-Hurder A, Gibbs JO, Dunlop DD, Reda DJ, McCarthy M Jr, Neumayer LA, Barkun JS, Hoehn JL, Murphy JT, Sarosi GA Jr, Syme WC, Thompson JS, Wang J, Jonasson O. Watchful waiting vs repair of inguinal hernia in minimally symptomatic men: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2006 Jan 18;295(3):285-92. doi: 10.1001/jama.295.3.285.

    PubMed 16418463
  • Schroeder AD, Tubre DJ, Fitzgibbons RJ Jr. Watchful Waiting for Inguinal Hernia. Adv Surg. 2019 Sep;53:293-303. doi: 10.1016/j.yasu.2019.04.014. Epub 2019 May 15. No abstract available.

    PubMed 31327453
  • Ramanan B, Maloley BJ, Fitzgibbons RJ Jr. Inguinal hernia: follow or repair? Adv Surg. 2014;48:1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.yasu.2014.05.017.

    PubMed 25293603
  • Fitzgibbons RJ Jr, Ramanan B, Arya S, Turner SA, Li X, Gibbs JO, Reda DJ; Investigators of the Original Trial. Long-term results of a randomized controlled trial of a nonoperative strategy (watchful waiting) for men with minimally symptomatic inguinal hernias. Ann Surg. 2013 Sep;258(3):508-15. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0b013e3182a19725.

    PubMed 24022443
  • Sarosi GA, Wei Y, Gibbs JO, Reda DJ, McCarthy M, Fitzgibbons RJ, Barkun JS. A clinician's guide to patient selection for watchful waiting management of inguinal hernia. Ann Surg. 2011 Mar;253(3):605-10. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0b013e31820b04e9.

    PubMed 21239979

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing watchful waiting or tension-free hernia repair in people with Inguinal Hernia, run by Creighton University at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 1 Jul 2013. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Pain limiting usual activities at two years.. The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00263250, which also lists 5 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 1 Jul 2013.

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