Efficacy of Negative Pressure Wound Treatment in Preventing Surgical Site Infections after Whipple Procedures

Abstract

Surgical site infections (SSIs) occur at an average rate of 21.1 per cent after Whipple procedures per NSQIP data. In the setting of adherence to standard National Surgery Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Hepatopancreatobiliary recommendations including wound protector use and glove change before closing, this study seeks to evaluate the efficacy of using negative pressure wound treatment (NPWT) over closed incision sites after a Whipple procedure to prevent SSI formation. We retrospectively examined consecutive patients from January 2014 to July 2016 who met criteria of completing Whipple procedures with full primary incision closure performed by a single surgeon at a single institution. Sixty-one patients were included in the study between two cohorts: traditional dressing (TD) (n = 36) and NPWT dressing (n = 25). There was a statistically significant difference (P = 0.01) in SSI formation between the TD cohort (n = 15, SSI rate = 0.41) and the NPWT cohort (n = 3, SSI rate = 0.12). The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of SSI formation was significant for NPWT use [OR = 0.15, P = 0.036] and for hospital length of stay [OR = 1.21, P = 0.024]. Operative length, operative blood loss, units of perioperative blood transfusion, intraoperative gastrojejunal tube placement, preoperative stent placement, and postoperative antibiotic duration did not significantly impact SSI formation (P > 0.05).