Surgical infections
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Surgical infections · Mar 2020
Transfer Is Associated with a Higher Mortality Rate in Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections.
Background: Necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTI) are a surgical emergency with significant morbidity and mortality rates. It has been thought that NSTIs are best treated in large tertiary centers. However, the effect of transfer has been under-studied. ⋯ However, there was a trend toward a lower in-hospital mortality rate if patients were transferred early without prior debridement than in all other transfers (21.4% versus 40.0%; p = 0.21). The in-hospital mortality rate was significantly lower at the Level 1 trauma center than at the non-trauma tertiary center (15.5% versus 34.3%; p = 0.02). Conclusion: Transfer status is an independent predictor of in-hospital death in patients with NSTI. Larger, multi-institutional studies are needed to elucidate further what factors contribute to the higher mortality rate in these patients.
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Surgical infections · Mar 2020
Clinical TrialWound Irrigation with Chlorhexidine Gluconate Reduces Surgical Site Infection in Pilonidal Disease: Single-Blind Prospective Study.
Background: The aim of this study was to determine whether incision irrigation with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) reduces surgical site infections (SSIs) in pilonidal disease surgery. Methods: Between 2013 and 2018, patients who underwent wide excision with primary closure for pilonidal disease were enrolled in this prospective observational multi-institutional cohort. The incision was irrigated with either saline or 0.05% CHG before skin closure. ⋯ Time to healing was 20.5 ± 7.8 days in the control group and 16 ± 4.3 days in the CHG group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Intra-operative incision irrigation with CHG decreased the SSI rate and time to healing in pilonidal disease surgery. Further randomized trials should focus on specific irrigation methods and procedures to build a consensus on the effect of incision irrigation on SSIs.