SynthesisPloS one2013
Impact of vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy on clinical outcomes of patients with sternal wound infections: a meta-analysis of non-randomized studies.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immediate flap increases patient safety for deep sternal wound infection: A meta-analysis.International wound journal · 2023Pooled it
- Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of Post-Surgical Mediastinitis in Adults Consensus Guidelines of the Spanish Society of Cardiovascular Infections (Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
- Article
- Deep sternal wound infection following cardiac surgery: A comparison of the monolateral with the bilateral pectoralis major flaps.International wound journal · 2020Article
- Negative pressure wound treatment with computer-controlled irrigation/instillation decreases bacterial load in contaminated wounds and facilitates wound closure.International wound journal · 2018Article
- Hospitalised patients' experiences during Negative Pressure Wound Therapy due to surgical site infection after vascular and cardiac surgery.International wound journal · 2018Article
- Sternal wound infections following cardiac surgery and their management: a single-centre study from the years 2016-2017.Kardiochirurgia i torakochirurgia polska = Polish journal of cardio-thoracic surgery · 2018Article
- Assessment of vacuum-assisted closure therapy on the wound healing process in cardiac surgery.International wound journal · 2016Article
- VAC therapy for the treatment of complex wounds after cardio-thoracic surgery.International wound journal · 2016Article
- Deep sternal wound infection after cardiac surgery: Evidences and controversies.World journal of critical care medicine · 2015Article
- Poststernotomy mediastinitis: a classification to initiate and evaluate reconstructive management based on evidence from a structured review.Journal of cardiothoracic surgery · 2014Review
- "Advances in the surgical management of bone tumors".Current oncology reports · 2014Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the impact of VAC therapy on mortality of patients with sternal wound infections after cardiothoracic surgery. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Controversial results regarding mortality of patients with sternal wound infections were published.
methodsWe performed a systematic search in PubMed and Scopus. Mortality was the primary outcome of the meta-analysis. Recurrences, complications and length of stay were secondary outcomes.
resultsTwenty-two retrospective studies including 2467 patients were eligible for inclusion. Patients treated with VAC had significantly lower mortality compared to those treated without VAC [2233 patients, RR = 0.40, (95% CI 0.28, 0.57)]. This finding was consistent regardless of the study design, the exclusion of studies with positive findings, the criteria for establishment of the compared groups, the time of mortality assessment or the type of infections under study, provided that adequate data was available. VAC therapy was associated with fewer recurrences (RR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.19-0.59). The meta-analysis did not show any difference in the length of stay (RR = -2.25, 95% CI: -7.52-3.02).
conclusionsVAC therapy was associated with lower mortality than other surgical techniques in retrospective cohorts of patients with DSWIs following cardiothoracic surgery.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.