ObjectiveTo compare the incidence of wound infection after cesarean delivery in procedures conducted using adhesive incisional drapes verses no adhesive incisional drapes.Study DesignSearches were performed in electronic databases (MEDLINE, ClinicalTrials.gov, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, OVID, EMBASE, and the PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews). We included randomized controlled trials comparing adhesive incisional drapes to no adhesive incisional drapes during cesarean delivery. The primary outcome of this meta-analysis was wound infection. Meta-analysis was performed using the random effects model of DerSimonian and Laird, to produce relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI).Results52 publications were identified through initial search of databases and two randomized controlled trials were eligible and included in the meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis examined a total of 1943 subjects and showed a statistically significant increase in wound infections in patients in the adhesive incisional drape group when compared to the control group (RR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.02–1.65).ConclusionAdhesive incisional drapes may increase the incidence of wound infections after cesarean delivery. Further studies are necessary to explore this relationship in the setting of current postoperative infection prophylaxis, including broad-spectrum antibiotic coverage, skin preparation and vaginal cleansing.
INTRODUCTION:
There is considerable overlap between symptoms related to iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) and a normally advancing gestation, posing challenges to the use of quality of life (QoL) tools to measure treatment effects. Our aim was to determine how best to use two existing QoL tools; short-form 36 (SF36) – a general questionnaire covering eight domains and the multidimensional fatigue symptom inventory: short form (MFSI-SF) – a fatigue-specific questionnaire to assess treatment effect in pregnant women with IDA.
METHODS:
We recruited consecutive women with IDA attending the Obstetric Day Unit at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, for intravenous iron infusions over six months. Consenting participants completed SF36 and MFSI-SF questionnaires at each visit and upon completion of treatment. Scores for the entire questionnaire and individual domains were summed and plotted graphically over time.
RESULTS:
29 women consented and completed at least one SF36 and MFSI-SF questionnaire, while 24 completed two, 12 completed three and four women completed four. The mean maternal age was 34 (24-46) years and the mean gestational age 29 (25-38) weeks. These women represented different ethnic groups and socio-economic strata. Although there was no consistent pattern in scores for 6/8 SF36 domains, there was a significant improvement between visits in the energy/fatigue (37.6 vs 42.8, p=0.044), and emotional wellness (62.7 vs 77.3, p<0.001) domains and in MFSI-SF scores (17.1 vs 12.2, p=0.025).
CONCLUSION:
When assessing treatment effects in pregnant women with IDA, consideration should be given to using QoL tools specifically designed to measure fatigue, such as MFSI-SF or the energy/fatigue domain in SF36.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.