SynthesisMedicine2017
Preoperative bathing with chlorhexidine reduces the incidence of surgical site infections after total knee arthroplasty: A meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevention of surgical site infections in lower limb fracture fixation and elective arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis of decolonization and skin antisepsis strategies.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of surgical skin preparation solutions in orthopaedic surgery: A systematic review of the current comparative literature.World journal of orthopedics · 2025Article
- Key Elements of Enhanced Recovery after Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Reanalysis of the Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Guidelines.Orthopaedic surgery · 2023Review
- Prevention of Periprosthetic Joint Infection in Total Knee Arthroplasty: Main Studies Reported Between November 2017 and January 2020.The archives of bone and joint surgery · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSurgical site infection is a devastating postoperative complication, and the occurrence ranges from 1% to 2% after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The efficacy of the preoperative use of chlorhexidine for reducing infection has been debated. This meta-analysis aimed to examine the efficacy of the use of chlorhexidine to prevent surgical site infections after TKA.
methodsIn February 2017, a systematic literature review was conducted using the following electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Google database. Data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and retrospective comparative study (RCS) that compared the use of chlorhexidine versus control washes to prep patients for TKA were retrieved. The primary endpoint was to compare the total incidence of infection with and without the use of chlorhexidine. The secondary outcomes were the incidence of infection in low-risk category patients, moderate-risk category patients, and high-risk category patients. After testing for publication bias and heterogeneity between studies, data were aggregated for random-effects modeling when necessary.
resultsFour clinical trials that included 8787 patients (chlorhexidine group: n = 2615, control group: n = 6172) were ultimately included in the meta-analysis. Chlorhexidine was associated with a reduced total incidence of infection, corresponding to a reduction of 1.69% [risk ratio (RR) = 0.22; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.12-0.40; P = .000]. Similarly, chlorhexidine was associated with a reduction in the incidence of infection among patients in the moderate-risk category (RR, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.05-0.63; P = .007) and the high-risk category (RR, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.03-0.67; P = .014). There was no significant difference between the incidence of infection in low-risk category patients with chlorhexidine use compared with the use of control washes (RR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.22-1.60; P = .330).
conclusionThe preoperative use of chlorhexidine could reduce the total incidence of infection and the incidence of infection in moderate-risk and high-risk category patients. The overall evidence and the number of included studies was limited; thus, a greater number of high-quality RCTs is still needed to further identify the effects of chlorhexidine on reducing the incidence of infection after TKA.
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