Please note that the copy function is not enabled for this field.
If you wish to
modify
existing outcomes, please copy and paste the current outcome text into the Update field.
LOGIN
CREATE ACCOUNT
LOGIN
CREATE ACCOUNT
MY TRIALS
REGISTER TRIAL
FAQs
HINTS AND TIPS
DEFINITIONS
Trial Review
The ANZCTR website will be unavailable from 1pm until 3pm (AEDT) on Wednesday the 30th of October for website maintenance. Please be sure to log out of the system in order to avoid any loss of data.
The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been endorsed by the ANZCTR. Before participating in a study, talk to your health care provider and refer to this
information for consumers
Download to PDF
Trial registered on ANZCTR
Registration number
ACTRN12607000451404
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
20/08/2007
Date registered
3/09/2007
Date last updated
22/02/2016
Type of registration
Prospectively registered
Titles & IDs
Public title
Pilot investigation of post burn itch - a randomised control trial
Query!
Scientific title
Will those people with partial or full thickness burns have diminished post burn itch using Medilixir and massage in comparison to acqueous creme and massage?
Query!
Secondary ID [1]
288596
0
Nil known
Query!
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
Query!
Trial acronym
ITCH (Investigating the effect of Treatment Creme to Help reduce post burn itch)
Query!
Linked study record
Query!
Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Burns
2280
0
Query!
Condition category
Condition code
Injuries and Accidents
2372
2372
0
0
Query!
Burns
Query!
Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Query!
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
Medilixir is a topical creme which is a combination of bees wax and herbal oils. Patients will apply the Medilixir to the area of their newly healed burn twice daily for two weeks. Following this period they will 'crossover' and use aqueous creme twice daily on their newly healed burn for a further one week. There will be no washout period for this study between crossover as lotions applied topically for the relief of post burn itch are effective for short periods of time only. As cremes will crossover on the commencement of a new calander day there will be 12 hours or more between topical applications and an additional seven days to determine the elevation or decline or any further itch. The massage component of this study involves application of either creme. Each creme will be applied over a 5 to 10 minute period and massaged well into the newly healed skin.
Query!
Intervention code [1]
1990
0
Other interventions
Query!
Comparator / control treatment
Aqueous creme - the current standard treatment for post burn itch at the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital (RBWH) is currently applied topically to to the area of the patients newly healed burn twice daily until the patient deems this unnecessary (this period varies from days to months depending upon the relief from itch the creme may generate). For the purpose of this trial aqueous creme (as with Medilixir) will be applied twice daily to the newly healed burn. Depending upon group allocation (control or experiment) participants will receive aqueous for 1 week (if in the experiment where they will receive Medilixir for 2 weeks followed by aqueous for 1 week) or 2 weeks (if in the control where they will receive aqueous for the initial two weeks followed by one week of Medilixir creme).
Query!
Control group
Active
Query!
Outcomes
Primary outcome [1]
3270
0
Diminished post burn itch as measured by a visual analogue scale (previously validated in other burn itch studies).
Query!
Assessment method [1]
3270
0
Query!
Timepoint [1]
3270
0
Two weeks following application of either aqueous or Medilixir creme itch measures for the control and experimental groups will be statistically compared.
Query!
Secondary outcome [1]
5455
0
Dimished antihistamine use
Query!
Assessment method [1]
5455
0
Query!
Timepoint [1]
5455
0
Two weeks following application of either aqueous or Medilixir creme antihistamine use between control and experimental groups will be statistically compared.
Query!
Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Patients with partial or full thickness burns to their body surface area or greater. Those able to provide informed consent.
Query!
Minimum age
18
Years
Query!
Query!
Maximum age
110
Years
Query!
Query!
Sex
Both males and females
Query!
Can healthy volunteers participate?
No
Query!
Key exclusion criteria
Those unable to provide informed consent. Those unable to answer questions accurately given communication difficulties.
Query!
Study design
Purpose of the study
Treatment
Query!
Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
Query!
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Each potential participant will be approached by the research assistant when their burn has healed and aqueous creme treatment would routinely commence. The patients will have the study explained to them (their involvement, the study timeframes, as well as their options to either refuse study inclusion or withdraw from the study). As patients are not aware of what either aqueous creme or Medilixir looks like this will form their blinding. Allocation to this trial will be concealed with the use of sealed opaque envelopes.
Query!
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
A computer random number generator will be used to allocate participants to either group.
Query!
Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
Query!
Who is / are masked / blinded?
Query!
Query!
Query!
Query!
Intervention assignment
Crossover
Query!
Other design features
Query!
Phase
Query!
Type of endpoint/s
Efficacy
Query!
Statistical methods / analysis
Query!
Recruitment
Recruitment status
Completed
Query!
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
3/03/2008
Query!
Actual
3/03/2008
Query!
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
8/08/2008
Query!
Actual
18/08/2008
Query!
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
Query!
Actual
Query!
Sample size
Target
50
Query!
Accrual to date
Query!
Final
52
Query!
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
QLD
Query!
Recruitment postcode(s) [1]
377
0
4006
Query!
Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1]
2528
0
University
Query!
Name [1]
2528
0
Queensland University of Technology
Query!
Address [1]
2528
0
Victoria Park Rd
Kelvin Grove
4059
Query!
Country [1]
2528
0
Australia
Query!
Funding source category [2]
3142
0
Hospital
Query!
Name [2]
3142
0
Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital Foundation.
Query!
Address [2]
3142
0
RBWH
Herston Rd
Herston
Brisbane
Query!
Country [2]
3142
0
Australia
Query!
Primary sponsor type
Hospital
Query!
Name
Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital
Query!
Address
Herston Rd
Herston
Brisbane
Query!
Country
Australia
Query!
Secondary sponsor category [1]
2290
0
Commercial sector/Industry
Query!
Name [1]
2290
0
Smith and Nephew
Query!
Address [1]
2290
0
Smith & Nephew Pty Limited
Unit 9, 211 Montague Road
West End
Queensland 4101
Australia
Query!
Country [1]
2290
0
Australia
Query!
Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
Query!
Ethics committee name [1]
4443
0
RBWH HREC
Query!
Ethics committee address [1]
4443
0
RBWH Herston Rd Herston Brisbane
Query!
Ethics committee country [1]
4443
0
Australia
Query!
Date submitted for ethics approval [1]
4443
0
22/08/2007
Query!
Approval date [1]
4443
0
01/09/2007
Query!
Ethics approval number [1]
4443
0
EC00172
Query!
Summary
Brief summary
Between the years 2000 and 2004 approximately 46,611 people were hospitalised in Australia as a result of burn or scald related injury.1 While comorbidities such as infection and psychosocial health alterations are readily described, patients recovering from burn injury frequently experience a post burn itch.2,3 Post burn itch affects up to 80% of the burn population.4 While post burn itch varies in time frame as well as severity, some patients experience severe and debilitating itch disturbing their sleep, activities of daily living as well as their quality of life for months following wound healing.3 Post burn itch treatments, while multimodal, remain consistently ineffective.3 In line with current literature The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) Burns Unit utilises various combinations of antihistamine medications, regular bathing, massage and aqueous crème in their management of post burn itch. Despite these varied interventions and the reputation of the RBWH Burn Unit as a centre of clinical excellence, itch remains the problem here that it is globally. Recent anecdotal evidence from several RBWH burn outpatients, however, suggests Medilixir (a combination of bees wax and herbal oils) to successfully assist in the minimisation of post burn itch. For this small patient cohort the change from aqueous crème to Medilixir markedly reduced their post burn itch. 1. Harrison, J., & Steel, D. (2006). Burns and scalds. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare National Injury Surveillance Unit Briefing, 7, October 2006. 2. Smith, J.S., Smith, K.R., Rainey, S.L., & DelGiorno, J. (2006). The psychology of burn care. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 13(3), pp.105-106. 3. Matheson, J.D., Clayton, J., & Muller, M.J. (2001). The reduction of itch during burn wound healing. Journal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation, 22(1),pp.76-81. 4. Demling, R.H., & DeSanti, L. (2003). Topical Doxepin significantly reduces itching and erythema in the chronically pruritic burn scar. Wounds, 15(6), pp.195-200.
Query!
Trial website
Query!
Trial related presentations / publications
Lewis, P.A., Wright, K., Webster, A., Steer, M., Rudd, M., Doubrovsky, A., & Gardener, G. (2012). A randomized controlled trial comparing aqueous crème with a beeswax and herbal oil crème in the provision of relief from post-burn pruritis. Journal of Burn Care & Research. 33(4), pp.195-200. Savovic, J., & Lewis, P. (2013), A pilot randomised trial of Medilixir cream shows some promising results, but control treatment may have been inappropriate. Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies. 18(2), pp.104–106. RBWH Health Care Symposium, Brisbane, Australia, 2008. P.A.Lewis, K.Wright, A.Webster, M.Steer, G.Gardner. “A randomised controlled trial comparing aqueous crème with bees wax crème in the provision of relief from post-burn itch” 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Burns Association, Melbourne, Australia, 2008. P.A.Lewis, K.Wright, A.Webster, M.Steer, R.Cinco, G.Gardner, M.Rudd. “A randomised controlled trial comparing aqueous crème and bees wax crème in the provision of relief from post-burn itch”
Query!
Public notes
Query!
Contacts
Principal investigator
Name
27994
0
A/Prof Peter Lewis
Query!
Address
27994
0
ACU - Nudgee Campus
Query!
Country
27994
0
Australia
Query!
Phone
27994
0
+61 7 3861 6094
Query!
Fax
27994
0
Query!
Email
27994
0
[email protected]
Query!
Contact person for public queries
Name
11151
0
Kay Wright
Query!
Address
11151
0
Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital - Stuart Pegg Burns Unit
Herston Rd
Herston 4006
Query!
Country
11151
0
Australia
Query!
Phone
11151
0
+61 7 3636 3496
Query!
Fax
11151
0
Query!
Email
11151
0
[email protected]
Query!
Contact person for scientific queries
Name
2079
0
Peter Lewis
Query!
Address
2079
0
Queensland University or Technology
Kelvin Grove Rd
Kelvin Grove
4059
Query!
Country
2079
0
Australia
Query!
Phone
2079
0
+61 7 3138 3834
Query!
Fax
2079
0
Query!
Email
2079
0
[email protected]
Query!
No information has been provided regarding IPD availability
What supporting documents are/will be available?
No Supporting Document Provided
Results publications and other study-related documents
Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.
Documents added automatically
No additional documents have been identified.
Download to PDF