Effect of Wound Irrigation with Povidone Iodine Versus Normal Saline on Superficial Incisional Surgical Site...

Peritonitis is a surgical emergency arising mostly from the perforation or rupture of an abdominal hollow viscus. Surgical operations for peritonitis are often attended by high morbidity and sometimes mortality in severe cases. Surgical site infection (SSI) is perhaps the most common post-operative morbidity following laparotomy for peritonitis.

To compare the rate of SSI in abdominal operations for peritonitis following wound irrigation with povidone iodine versus normal saline at a tertiary health institution in Nigeria.

This was a prospective, comparative hospital-based study over a year. Consecutive consenting adult patients were randomised into two groups in this study. The first group (A) used 500 mL of 1% povidone iodine for subcutaneous wound irrigation, while the second group (B) used 500 mL of normal saline for subcutaneous wound irrigation. Wound irrigation was done after an appropriate surgical procedure had been carried out based on the pathology. Wounds were assessed for SSI for up to 30 days after operation using the definition criteria by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). SSI rates were compared between the two groups.

Fifty-eight consecutive patients with generalised peritonitis over a one-year period were enrolled in this study, but 53 patients who completed the study were analysed. Thirty patients were males and 23 were females, and their mean age was 40.83 ± 17.96 years. Overall, 15 (28.3%) patients had incisional SSI. There were nine (34.6%) cases in the povidone group, while there were six (22.2%) in the saline group. This difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.32). Klebsiella species were the dominant organisms isolated from the infected wounds.

Wound irrigation with povidone iodine after laparotomy for peritonitis did not reduce the rate and severity of surgical site infection more when compared to normal saline. We suggest further studies with a large number of patients in a multi-centre study to explore further the effect of povidone iodine versus normal saline wound irrigation on SSI following laparotomy for peritonitis.