Predictors of wound infection in elective colorectal surgery. Multicenter observational case-control study.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of Vicryl Plus(®) suture in reducing the rate of postoperative wound infection in elective colorectal surgery.

Methods: A prospective case-control multicenter study with 480 patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery was performed between 2006 and 2007. Patients were divided in 2 groups of equal sample size: group 1, closure of the abdominal wall using Vicryl Plus(®) and group 2 where PDS II(®) was used. The study involved 5 hospitals in the Spanish State. Wound infection was classified into superficial and deep. All patients diagnosed of wound infection during the hospital stay and up to 30 days after discharge were studied. For the statistical analysis Chi-square test and Fisher exact were used for bivariate analysis and logistic regression model for multivariate analysis.

Results: Wound infection rates were significantly lower in group 1: 14.6 vs. 29.2. Multivariate analysis showed that risk of wound infection was higher in patients with cancer, lung disease, anemia, operative time greater than 2 h, lack of second dose intra-operative prophylactic antibiotic and laparotomy closure with PDS suture II(®).

Conclusions: The use of suture coated with triclosan can be an effective prophylactic tool in reducing wound infection rate in patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery.