Use of ciNPWT in cardiac surgery: single center observational study

Abstract

Surgical site infections and complications (SSI, SSC) are relatively rare but potentially devastating events; particularly in cardiac surgery because of the importance of the structures involved.
 In accordance with the main international guidelines, that recommend the use of negative pressure therapy in closed surgical wounds (ciNPWT) in high-risk patients, we selected a group of 112 patients at high risk of developing surgical site complications, presenting in the clinic from January 2018 to December 2019.
 We applied 165 single-use negative pressure dressings in our cohort and kept them for seven days ($\pm$ 1). All the wounds were closed by primary intention without edema or hematoma. Three cases of postoperative bleeding required us to pause the negative pressure therapy. After discharge, five patients at particularly high risk developed sternal wound dehiscence.
 In conclusion, the use of ciNPWT, applied following a dedicated algorithm, gave good results in the prevention of SSI or SSC. Some limitations in the results are determined by the specific requirements of cardiac surgery.