The negative pressure wound therapy for prevention of sternal wound infection: Can we reduce infection rate after the use of bilateral internal thoracic arteries? A systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Background: Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is traditionally used to treat postoperative wound infections. However, its use in closed wound sternotomy post cardiac surgery in high-risk patients has become increasingly popular. The potential preventive benefit of reducing sternal wound infections has been recently acknowledged.