title: Negative pressure wound therapy in the prevention of wound infection in high risk abdominal wound closures.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Wound infections continue to be an issue in abdominal surgery. Tissue perfusion may be a contributing factor. Negative pressure application may have promise in decreasing wound complication.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review of prospectively collected data in patients with high-risk abdominal wounds was undertaken. Comorbidities, risk factors for infection, wound classification, and wound outcomes were all evaluated. The primary outcome measure was wound infection rate. Secondary outcomes included device safety and overall surgical site complication rate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty patients were identified who had skin flaps in whom negative pressure was used. Negative pressure was applied for an average of 5.6 days (range, 5-7 days). No patient developed ischemia or necrosis of the skin flaps. No wound infections were identified. The overall wound complication rate was 3%. The comparable historical control wound complication rate was 20%, and χ(2) analysis showed a statistically significant decrease in the infection rate with negative-pressure wound therapy (P < .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Negative-pressure wound therapy applied to a closed, high-risk surgical wound is safe, with no evidence of skin necrosis and decreased wound infection rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. daniel.vargo@hsc.utah.edu
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vargo
mesh_terms: D058107:Abdominal Wound Closure Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D004869:Equipment Safety; D006801:Humans; D054843:Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016896:Treatment Outcome