Silver-Impregnated Dressings for Sternotomy Incisions to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Children.

Background: The consequences of surgical site infections can be severe and range from short-term delays in discharge from the hospital to life-threatening infections such as mediastinitis.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of silver-impregnated dressings in decreasing surgical site infections in children after cardiac surgery.

Methods: A randomized, controlled trial was used to compare silver-impregnated dressings (59 participants) with standard dressings (58 participants).