No abstract

Although the incidence of sternal wound infections has decreased to 1% to 4% of all cardiac surgery procedures, they continue to be associated with increased morbidity and mortality, and decreased long-term life expectancy. [1][2][3] They prolong hospital length of stay and can raise hospital costs by as much as US$62,000. 4 Sternal wound infections are now publicly reported, and the US Center for Medicare and Medicaid services will no longer reimburse hospital costs incurred in the treatment of deep sternal wound infections (DSWI) following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. 5 Despite the significant clinical and economic consequences of sternal wound infections, there are currently no specific guidelines in cardiac surgery for the prevention and treatment of sternal wound infections. What follows are recommendations for the prevention of wound infections during the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative periods, as well as principles for the most effective methods and techniques to treat sternal wound infections to achieve the lowest morbidity and mortality as derived from evidence-based recommendations (Tables 1 and 2). METHODSA literature search was performed using PubMed and Google Scholar up to March 2015 using the MeSH headings ''Sternal Wound Infections -Prevention and Treatment,'' ''Treatment of Mediastinitis,'' ''Topical Antibiotics in Cardiac Surgery,'' ''Wound VAC Therapy for Sternal Wound Infections,'' and ''Prevention and Treatment of Sternal Instability.'' Editorials and articles involving prevention and therapy for wound infections in noncardiac, nonsternotomy patients were excluded.The systemic review was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines 6 (Figure 1).

Background-This study sought to determine whether tight glycemic control with a modified glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) solution in diabetic coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients would improve perioperative outcomes. Methods and Results-One hundred forty-one diabetic patients undergoing CABG were prospectively randomized to tight glycemic control (serum glucose, 125 to 200 mg/dL) with GIK or standard therapy (serum glucose Ͻ250 mg/dL) using intermittent subcutaneous insulin beginning before anesthesia and continuing for 12 hours after surgery. GIK patients had lower serum glucose levels (138Ϯ4 versus 260Ϯ6 mg/dL; PϽ0.0001), a lower incidence of atrial fibrillation (16.6% versus 42%; Pϭ0.0017), and a shorter postoperative length of stay (6.5Ϯ0.1 versus 9.2Ϯ0.3 days; Pϭ0.003). GIK patients also showed a survival advantage over the initial 2 years after surgery (Pϭ0.04) and decreased episodes of recurrent ischemia (5% versus 19%; Pϭ0.01) and developed fewer recurrent wound infections (1% versus 10%, Pϭ0.03). Conclusions-Tight glycemic control with GIK in diabetic CABG patients improves perioperative outcomes, enhances survival, and decreases the incidence of ischemic events and wound complications.