ArticleHand (New York, N.Y.)2026
Wound Irrigation Prior to Closure During Routine Upper-Extremity Surgery: Is There a Difference in Wound Complications?
Article in Hand (New York, N.Y.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPresently, there is no consensus within the field of orthopedics on whether irrigation prior to wound closure in routine upper-extremity surgery reduces wound complications. Therefore, preclosure wound irrigation could provide time and cost savings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of wound irrigation in routine upper-extremity procedures.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective review of adult patients undergoing routine upper-extremity surgery at a single institution from 2013 to 2022. Patients were included if they underwent soft tissue upper extremity surgery. Patients were excluded for having concomitant lacerations, penetrating injuries, open fractures, or unknown irrigation technique. Our primary outcome was comparison of the rate of wound complications based on whether irrigation was used. Multivariable logistic regression was additionally used to determine whether irrigation prior to closure was associated with a lower incidence of postoperative wound complications independent of potential confounders.
resultsWe included 1425 patients. The mean age was 55.2 ± 16 years and 65% were female. The incision was irrigated prior to closure in 65% of surgeries. Wound complications occurred in 2.9% of patients (n = 41). On bivariable analysis, irrigation prior to closure was not associated with a decreased incidence of wound complications (3.5% vs 1.8%,
conclusionUse of irrigation prior to wound closure was not associated with a difference in the odds of postoperative wound complications. Surgeons should consider forgoing irrigation prior to closure to increase operating room efficiency and provide cost savings to the patients and payers.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.