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Bacterial growth and wound infection following saphenous vein harvesting in cardiac surgery: a randomized controlled trial of the impact of microbial skin sealant

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to compare microbial skin sealant versus bare skin on the leg regarding intraoperative bacterial presence in the surgical wound and time to recolonization of the adjacent skin at the saphenous vein harvesting site. A second aim was to evaluate the incidence of leg wound infection 2 months after surgery. In this randomized controlled trial, 140 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between May 2010 and October 2011 were enrolled. Bacterial samples were taken preoperatively and intraoperatively at multiple time points and locations. OF the patients, 125 (92.6 %) were followed up 2 months postoperatively regarding wound infection. Intraoperative bacterial growth did not differ between the bare skin (n = 68) and the microbial skin sealant group (n = 67) at any time point. At 2 months postoperatively, 7/61 patients (11.5 %) in the skin sealant versus 14/64 (21.9 %) in the bare skin group (p = 0.120) had been treated with antibiotics for a verified or suspected surgical site infection (SSI) at the harvest site. We found almost no intraoperative bacterial presence on the skin or in the subcutaneous tissue, irrespective of microbial skin sealant use. In contrast, we observed a relatively high incidence of late wound infection, indicating that wound contamination occurred postoperatively. Further research is necessary to determine whether the use of microbial skin sealant reduces the incidence of leg wound infection at the saphenous vein harvest site.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the OR nurses and thoracic surgeons who participated in the sample collection. We also thank research nurse Margareta Lundh, Stefan B. Larsson for his photo documentation, and Lena Barkman and colleagues for the skilled technical assistance.

Conflict of interest

This study was supported by grants from the Research Committee of Örebro County Council and Nyckelfonden at Örebro University Hospital. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. Kimberly-Clark Health Care, Roswell, GA, GB, supported the investigators by providing the product InteguSeal to be studied in an elective cardiac surgery population. Kimberly-Clark provided no financial support to any author of this publication.

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Correspondence to K. Falk-Brynhildsen.

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Falk-Brynhildsen, K., Söderquist, B., Friberg, Ö. et al. Bacterial growth and wound infection following saphenous vein harvesting in cardiac surgery: a randomized controlled trial of the impact of microbial skin sealant. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 33, 1981–1987 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-014-2168-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-014-2168-x

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