Surgical Wound Complications After Colorectal Surgery with Single-Use Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy Versus Surgical Dressing Over Closed Incisions: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background Global studies indicate that surgical site infections (SSIs) are a major healthcare challenge within hospitals and can have a profound impact on patient quality of life and healthcare costs. Closed incision negative-pressure therapy (ciNPT) has been reported to provide positive clinical benefits for patients with various incisions, including those following colorectal surgeries. Methods A prospective, randomized, multicenter trial was performed to evaluate complications of surgical incisions in patients who received a ciNPT dressing versus a conventional surgical dressing (control) over their closed incision following colorectal surgery. The incidence of SSI was measured at 7 days, 15 days, and 30 days postsurgery. Results A total of 148 patients participated in the study. Results showed that the SSI rate on day 7 was lower in the ciNPT group vs. control group (10/75 [13.3%] vs. 17/73 [23.3%]), but this difference was not statistically significant. On day 15, the SSI rate was 12/75 (16.0%) in the ciNPT group vs. 21/73 (28.8%) in the control group; however, this difference was only marginally statistically significant (P = .0621). At 1 month, the SSI rate remained lower in the ciNPT group (13/75 [17.3%] vs. 21/73 [28.8%], P = .0983) compared with the control group. Conclusions Future studies with larger population sizes are necessary to further determine the impact of ciNPT on patients' incisions after colorectal surgery.