IMR Press / CEOG / Volume 47 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.ceog.2020.02.5131
Open Access Original Research
Tissue adhesive to repair first-degree perineal tear: a pilot randomized controlled trial
Show Less
1 School of Nursing, University of São Paulo. Midwife in clinical practice at Casa Angela Birth Center, Brazil
2 School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, Brazil
3 School of Nursing, University of São Paulo, Brazil
4 School of Nursing, University of São Paulo, Brazil
*Correspondence: thaistteixeira@gmail.com (T. TREVISAN TEIXEIRA)
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 2020, 47(2), 228–233; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.ceog.2020.02.5131
Published: 15 April 2020
Copyright: © 2020 Trevisan Teixeira et al. Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Abstract

Purpose of Investigation: This pilot study proposes to verify the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on the use of Epiglu tissue adhesive to repair first-degree tear. Materials and Methods: A pilot RCT was conducted in a birth center in São Paulo, Brazil. The sample consisted of 20 women with first-degree tear. These women were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG=10) - perineal tear repair with Epiglu or the control group (CG=10) - perineal tear repair with absorbable synthetic thread. The measured outcomes were perineal pain, perineal healing, women’s satisfaction, and professional’s time spent repairing the perineum. Results: The intensity of perineal pain was significantly lower among women in the EG than that in the CG in all stages of the study (EG range: 2.0-0.2; CG range: 2.5-0.6). Additionally, perineal healing showed significantly better REEDA scores among women in the EG than those in the CG in all stages (EG range: 0.6-0.0; CG range: 1.8-0.7). Women’s satisfaction was significantly higher in the EG (100% were satisfied or very satisfied) than that in the CG (10% to 20% of them were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied). The mean time spent to repair the perineum was five minutes in the EG and 21 minutes in the CG (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study shows that it is feasible to undertake an RCT on the use of the tissue adhesive Epiglu for first-degree perineal tear repair during normal birth.

Keywords
Natural childbirth
Perineum
Lacerations
Tissue adhesives
Cyanoacrylates
Wound healing
Figures
Figure 1.
Share
Back to top