Effects of a plastic wound drape on contamination with enterobacteria and on infection after appendicectomy

Area of Science:

• Surgical Infection Prevention
• Microbiology
• Medical Device Efficacy

Background:

• Postoperative wound infections remain a significant concern in surgical outcomes.
• Contaminated operations increase the risk of surgical site infections.
• The use of wound dressings to prevent bacterial contamination is a key area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the preventive effects of a plastic wound drape (Vi-drape) on wound contamination.
• To assess the impact of the Vi-drape on the rate of subsequent postoperative wound infection.
• To evaluate bacterial load reduction under the drape during appendectomies.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 289 appendectomy patients.
• Patients were assigned to either a treatment group using Vi-drape or a control group without the drape.
• Quantitative cultures for enterobacteria were performed on drape samples, wounds under the drape, and control wounds.

Main Results:

• The Vi-drape reduced the average number of wound bacteria by 94% (1.2 logarithms).
• The postoperative wound infection rate was 7.6% in the Vi-drape group versus 9.1% in the control group (not statistically significant).
• Bacterial reduction was observed in the treatment group compared to controls.

Conclusions:

• The plastic wound drape (Vi-drape) effectively reduces bacterial contamination on surgical wounds.
• The drape shows potential for preventing infections, particularly in patients undergoing contaminated operations.
• Further research may be warranted to confirm statistically significant reductions in infection rates.