The effect of wound dressings on infection following total joint arthroplasty

BACKGROUND: The use of perioperative surgical wound dressings is an important factor in the mitigation of infection following total joint arthroplasty (TJA). Few studies have been published comparing wound dressings and infection rates after TJA. METHODS: MEDLINE, PubMed, and EMBASE were searched for studies published between 2006 and 2016 reporting infection rates in patients using various wound dressings after undergoing TJA. All studies comparing Hydrofibre dressings to Standard dressings or Absorbent dressings were included in this meta-analysis. Studies looking at TJA secondary to trauma were excluded. Two individuals independently extracted data, and study results were divided based on type of treatment. The primary outcome was to compare the infection rate of Hydrofibre dressings to that of both Standard Dressings and Absorbent dressings. RESULTS: Of a total of 3721 participants, 1483 were treated with Standard dressings (non-impregnated gauze), 1911 with Hydrofibre dressings, and 327 with Absorbent dressings. The risk ratio for infection comparing Standard with Hydrofibre was 4.16 (95% confidence interval, 1.71-10.16) as compared to 2.60 (95% confidence interval, 0.66-10.27) when comparing Absorbent with Hydrofibre dressings. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis suggests that Hydrofibre dressings may be significantly better than Standard and Absorbent dressings with respect to reducing infection. However, given the observed heterogeneity and small number of studies included, more comparative studies are needed to definitively recommend superiority among dressings following TJA. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 1.