Table 3 The effectiveness of wound protectors [57,58,59,60,61,62,63]: characteristics of the studies included in the review. RCT: randomized controlled trial; SSI: surgical site infection; PCT: prospective controlled trial; GoR: grade of recommendation
Author and year of publication | Type of study | Number of patients | Outcomes | GoR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pinkney TD et al. 2013 [56] | Multicenter RCT | 760 | Wound edge protection devices do not reduce the rate of surgical site infection in patients undergoing laparotomy, and therefore their routine use for this role cannot be recommended. | 1A |
Gheorghe A et al. 2012 [57] | Systematic review and meta-analysis of 2 PCT + 10 RCT | 1933 | Wound edge protectors may be efficient in reducing SSI rates in patients undergoing open abdominal surgery | 1B |
Edwards JP et al. 2012 [58] | Meta-analysis of 6 RCT | 1008 | Wound protectors reduce rates of SSI after gastrointestinal and biliary surgery | 1A |
Mihaljevic AL et al. 2015 [59] | Systematic review and meta-analysis of 16 RCT | 3695 | Wound edge protectors significantly reduce the rate of surgical site infections in open abdominal surgery | 1B |
Zhang MX et al. 2015 [60] | Systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 RCT | 2344 | Wound edge protector reduces the incidence of SSI in patients receiving laparotomies, especially in the circumstance of dual-ring type and in contaminated incisions. In order to fully assess the effectiveness of WEP, large-scale and well-designed RCTs are still needed in the future. | 1B |
Kang SI et al. 2018 [61] | Systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 RCT | 2684 | Potentially significant benefit from impervious plastic wound protector use, greater protective effect in using dual-ring protector than a single ring | 1A |
Sajid MS et al. 2017 [62] | Systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 RCT | 3808 | Wound edge protector is associated with reduced incidence of overall SSI in clean-contaminated and contaminated wounds | 1B |
Bressan AK et al. 2018 [63] | RCT | 107 | Among adult patients with intrabiliary stents, the use of a dual-ring wound protector during pancreaticoduodenectomy significantly reduces the risk of incisional SSI. | 1A |