Can Negative Pressure Dressings Prevent Wound Infection After Surgery?

Surgical site infections (SSIs) can cause substantial harm to patients and are a considerable burden on healthcare systems. Negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) was introduced in the 1990s as a tool to improve healing in open wounds; however, it has more recently been investigated in the setting of closed surgical incisions to prevent SSIs. Multiple randomized controlled trials have found that NPWT applied to closed surgical incisions immediately following surgery reduces the incidence of SSIs. The effect appears to be limited to superficial SSIs, and high-quality evidence for deep SSIs is lacking. The effect is consistent across a range of procedures. The evidence for cost-effectiveness is varied, although NPWT may be cost-saving when considering the averted complications. There does not appear to be a superior NPWT device, setting, or duration, although high-quality studies are lacking. Providers should consider the use of NPWT to prevent superficial SSIs in high-risk groups.