[Surgical site infections. Effectiveness of polyhexamethylene biguanide wound dressings]

To analyze the effectiveness of a 0,2% polyhexamethylene biguanide dressing against the infection of a superficial surgical incision site (ISSIS) after a laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

A randomized longitudinal single-blind study was conducted with two randomly assigned groups consisting of patients diagnosed with cholelithiasis soon to undergo an elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The dependent variable was ISSIS using the criteria of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) (1999). The independent variables were the use of a 0,2% polyhexamethylene biguanide dressing (Group A), or a non occlusive dressing (Group B). The National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) index was used for assessing the risk of infection. The χ(2) test or Fisher test was used to evaluate the correlation between the independent variables.

Of the total 197 cases, 96 (48.7%) were in group A and 101 (51.3%) in group B. No statistical differences were found between genders, duration of surgery (51.4 ± 21.2 vs 52.6 ± 23.4 minutes, in group A and B, respectively), or the NNIS index in either group. Six patients had an ISSIS (3.04%): 1 in group A (1.04%) and 5 in group B (4.95%), P=.212.

The study was unable to correlate an ISSIS with the type of surgical dressing that was used, although it was not possible to rule out an association, as the study did not have sufficient statistical power.