An observational study in Rectal Prolapse, Surgery and Recurrence, sponsored by Aarhus University Hospital. Enrolling by invitation at 1 site in Denmark. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-01-23.
Sponsored by Aarhus University Hospital · Observational
The goal of this observational study is to gather data about surgical procedures for rectal prolapse in adult human subjects. The main question it aims to answer is:
Participants will:
The Nordic Rectal Prolapse Study (NORDIC) is an observational trial initiated from the Pelvic Floor Unit, Aarhus University Hospital (AUH), planned in collaboration with the Pelvic Floor Society, UK. Although an RCT is the most favourable design for interventional surgical trials, it took seven years to recruit 75 patients for an RCT from Aarhus. Observational studies generally recruit with greater ease than RCTs, and this type of design is a valid option to an RCT. The non-randomized design can encourage inclusion as the type of surgery will be as per routine care, and the study is able to adapt to variations in practice during the trial period.
The investigators hypothesize that laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy (LVMR) is superior to other surgical procedures for rectal prolapse when it comes to improvement in quality of life for the patients.
Lead site will be the Department of Surgery, AUH. Expression of interest (EoI) forms have been collected from sites in Denmark, Scandinavia, and the UK. Patients undergoing rectal prolapse surgery will be eligible for inclusion respecting a few exclusion criteria. The trial is observational only. Surgical procedure will be by choice of the individual surgeon in collaboration with the patient. Thus, standard practice will be observed at different sites. Due to the high number of participating patients and surgical units, sufficient variation in procedures is assumed.
Quality of life measured by means of EQ-5D (European Quality of Life - 5 Dimensions) at 6 months postoperative will be the primary endpoint. There has been assumed 90% power to demonstrate non-inferiority with a two-sided 95% confidence interval, a non-inferiority margin of 0.1, a standard deviation of 0.26 based on UK population data, and that the correlation between baseline and follow-up EQ-5D is 0.4. Allowing for 10% loss to follow-up the researchers aim to recruit 430 participants in total. A conservative estimate assumes 20 centres with >15 eligible patients per year. With a recruitment rate of 80% the investigators should be able to recruit >480 patients over a 24-months period, allowing for staggered site initiation.
Data will be collected preoperative both from patient records and by patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) covering QoL, bowel function, urinary and sexual function, pain, and global satisfaction, and will be distributed electronically or on paper according to patient preferences.
Main assessment will be PROMs at defined time points.
55 studies on the registry are indexed under Rectal Prolapse; 12 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 430 is above the median of 200 across 21 observational studies indexed under Rectal Prolapse.
Browse Rectal Prolapse studies →Aarhus University Hospital is the lead sponsor of 298 studies on the registry; 80 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
All adult patients getting surgery for external rectal prolapse.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Quality of life after surgery
To determine whether well-established procedures for external rectal prolapse are non-inferior to LVMR using EQ-5D at 6 months post-surgery.
Time frame: 6 months
Constipation
To determine the effect of different procedures on constipation symptoms using PAC-SYM score at 6- and 12-months post-operatively.
Time frame: 12 months
Faecal incontinence
To determine the effect of different procedures on faecal incontinence (Wexner Score), MyMOP 2, and on single questions on urinary and sexual function, pain, global satisfaction at 6m.
Time frame: 6 months
Complications
To determine rates of short-term harms based on perioperative complications and medium-term follow-up.
Time frame: 6 months
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Apr 2023 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2026, 44 months after the start.
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