Applying a Silver-containing Dressing to the Incision Site and Its Effect on the Development of Surgical Site...

Surgical site infections (SSIs) can occur after colorectal surgery. Ionic silver has been used to prevent the development of SSIs. New-generation dressings, defined as total occlusive ionic silver-containing dressings, have been shown to reduce bacterial colonization in SSIs.

To evalute the effect of a silver hydrofiber dressing on the development of SSIs at the abdominal incision after ostomy closure.

There was a total of 37 eligible patients who underwent temporary ostomy closure. Five patients required an associated intervention during ostomy closure and were excluded. One patient was lost to follow-up. Hence, 32 patients were included in the study. Silver-containing occlusive dressings and conventional dressings were used in patients who underwent ostomy closure. In the control group (n = 16), the wound area was covered with a standard sterile gauze dressing for 24 to 48 hours, and then wound cleansing was performed with 10% povidone iodine, followed by daily dressing replacement with sterile gauze for 5 days. The patients in the study group (n = 16) were treated with a silver-containing hydrofiber dressing, which was not changed for 5 days following application in the operating room.

At the end of the 30-day follow-up period, no SSIs were observed in the study group. When the dressing methods applied to the patient groups with and without SSIs were compared, SSIs developed at a higher rate in the control group (n = 4; 26.7%) compared with the study group (n = 0); this result was statistically significant (P = .043).

In this study, the use of a wound care product containing ionic silver reduced the rate of SSIs related to ostomy closure. Multicenter, randomized, clinical studies involving a larger number of patients are needed. In addition, occlusive wound dressings with and without silver should be investigated in further studies.