Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36462539›Full record

Trial reportAmerican journal of obstetrics and gynecology2023

Vaginal cleansing before unscheduled cesarean delivery to reduce infection: a randomized clinical trial.

Lorene A Temming, Antonina I Frolova, Nandini Raghuraman, Methodius G Tuuli, Alison G Cahill

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. The effectiveness of a cesarean delivery bundle with vaginal preparation, cefazolin, and azithromycin in reducing postoperative infections: A before-and-after study.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2025
    Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Lorene A TemmingDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Atrium Health Wake Forest School of Medicine, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC. Electronic address: Lorene.temming@atriumhealth.org.
Antonina I FrolovaDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, MO.
Nandini RaghuramanDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, MO.
Methodius G TuuliDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Women and Infant's Hospital of Rhode Island, Alpert Medical School at Brown University, Providence, RI.
Alison G CahillDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
Washington University in St. Louis · USBrown University · USCarolinas Medical Center · USThe University of Texas at Austin · US

Funding

WU INSTITUTE OF CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCESUL1TR002345 · NCATS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI William G. Powderly · 2017 to 2026
$97.8M
Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational SciencesUL1TR000448 · NCATS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI EVANOFF, BRADLEY A · 2012 to 2016
$41.4M
Reproductive Epidemiology Training Program at Washington University in St. LouisT32HD055172 · NICHD · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI MADDEN, TESSA · 2009 to 2018
$2.5M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR000448NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR002345NICHD NIH HHS T32 HD055172
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCesarean delivery is the most performed major surgery among women, and surgical-site infections following a cesarean delivery are a significant source of postoperative morbidity. It is unclear if vaginal cleansing before a cesarean delivery decreases post-cesarean delivery infectious morbidity.

objectiveThis study aimed to evaluate if preoperative vaginal cleansing with povidone-iodine among women undergoing a cesarean delivery after labor decreases postoperative infectious morbidity. STUDY

designThis randomized clinical trial was conducted from August 3, 2015 to January 28, 2021, with 30 days of follow-up and the final follow-up completed on February 27, 2021. Patients met the inclusion criteria if they underwent a cesarean delivery after regular contractions with cervical dilation, rupture of membranes, or any cesarean delivery performed at >4 cm dilation. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either abdominal cleansing plus vaginal cleansing with 1% povidone-iodine or abdominal cleansing alone. The primary outcome was composite infectious morbidity including surgical-site infection, fever, endometritis, and wound complications within 30 days after the cesarean delivery. Secondary outcomes included individual components of the composite, length of hospital stay, postoperative hospitalization or outpatient treatment related to infectious morbidity, and empirical treatment for neonatal sepsis.

resultsA total of 608 subjects (304 vaginal cleansing group, 304 control group) were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. Patient characteristics were similar between groups. There was no significant difference in the primary composite outcome between the 2 groups (11.8% vs 11.5%; P=.90; relative risk, 1.0; 95% confidence interval, 0.7-1.6). Individual components of the composite and secondary outcomes were also not significantly different between the groups. Similar findings were observed in the as-treated analysis (11.3% vs 11.8%; P=.9; relative risk, 1.0; 95% confidence interval, 0.7-1.6).

conclusionVaginal cleansing with povidone-iodine before an unscheduled cesarean delivery occurring after labor did not reduce the postoperative infectious morbidity. These findings do not support the routine use of vaginal cleansing for women undergoing a cesarean delivery after labor.

Indexed as

Anti-Infective Agents, LocalEndometritisAdministration, IntravaginalFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornPovidone-IodinePregnancySurgical Wound InfectionVaginaAnti-Infective Agents, LocalPovidone-Iodinecesarean deliveryinfectious morbidityoperative morbidityoperative obstetricspostoperative infectionprophylaxisvaginal cleansing

Identifiers

PMID36462539
PMCPMC10227184
OpenAlexW4310373606

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.