NCT07072923

Antibiotic Impregnated Beads in Osteomyelitis

Utility of Antibiotic Impregnated Beads in Lower Extremity Osteomyelitis

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 4
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 100 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Arizona · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Lower extremity bone infections, such as osteomyelitis, often occur after bone fractures, surgery, or when prosthetic joints or hardware become infected. Treatment usually includes antibiotics, chosen based on the infection's specifics. Options include intravenous (IV) or oral antibiotics, and sometimes local treatment with antibiotic-loaded beads placed directly at the infection site. Traditionally, these beads are made of non-absorbable materials, requiring a second surgery to remove them. However, a newer approach uses absorbable calcium sulfate beads, which can deliver higher antibiotic doses and don't need removal. This study will compare the use of IV and/or antibiotics in combination with absorbable antibiotic calcium sulfate beads with IV and/or oral antibiotics without absorbable beads, which serves as the current standard of care.

Detailed description

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of absorbable antibiotic beads in treating lower extremity (LE) infections and compare it to the current standard care. The study has several objectives: (1) to compare treatment failure rates between patients receiving intravenous (IV) and/or oral antibiotics plus antibiotic loaded absorbable beads with IV and/or oral antibiotics plus beads without antibiotics (sham beads). The primary question to be answered is whether patients treated with oral and/or IV antibiotics in conjunction with absorbable antibiotic beads have outcome (failure rate) that is not higher than those treated with standard care alone. The study's hypothesis is that the failure rate for patients receiving IV and/or oral antibiotics combined with antibiotic beads will be non-inferior to those receiving the standard care of IV or oral antibiotics without beads. The study will primarily focus on treatment failure rates as a key endpoint to measure effectiveness and compare the two treatment approaches.

Conditions

• Osteomyelitis of the Foot
• Antibiotic Impregnated Beads
• Osteomyelitis of Lower Extremities

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Antibiotic loaded calcium sulfate beads	Calcium sulfate beads will be loaded with best available antibiotics based on surgeon/infectious disease specialist determination from the following options (vancomycin, daptomycin, cefazolin, cefepime, tobramycin, amphotericin B, micafungin, and voriconazole).
DEVICE	Calcium sulfate beads (sham beads)	Calcium sulfate beads will be prepared without added antibiotics and placed during the second surgery.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-09-01
• Primary completion: 2027-07-31
• Completion: 2027-09-30
• First posted: 2025-07-18
• Last updated: 2025-07-18