SynthesisArquivos brasileiros de cirurgia digestiva : ABCD = Brazilian archives of digestive surgery2026
Effectiveness of negative pressure wound therapy versus conventional dressings in emergency laparotomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Arquivos brasileiros de cirurgia digestiva : ABCD = Brazilian archives of digestive surgery, 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
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSurgical site infections represent a significant complication after emergency laparotomy, contributing to increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) may reduce the incidence of surgical site infections; however, evidence from randomized controlled trials remains inconsistent.
aimsTo present a systematic review and meta-analysis, comparing NPWT with conventional dressings in emergency laparotomies.
methodsSystematic searches were conducted according to the Cochrane Handbook and reported according to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases were searched since their inception, using terms related to emergency laparotomy, NPWT, and conventional dressings. The reference lists of included studies were manually examined to identify additional eligible trials. Only randomized controlled trials that compared NPWT with conventional dressings in emergency abdominal surgeries and that reported surgical site infection rates or other clinical outcomes were included. The primary outcome was the incidence of surgical site infection. Secondary outcomes included wound dehiscence, seroma formation, length of hospital stay, and 30-day mortality.
resultsEight randomized controlled trials, totaling 1,377 patients (707 in the NPWT group and 670 in the conventional dressing group), were included. NPWT significantly reduced the risk of surgical site infection (risk ratio [RR] 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.26-0.73; p=0.002; heterogeneity [I2]=76%) and wound dehiscence (RR 0.32; 95%CI 0.18-0.58; p=0.0002). No significant differences were observed regarding seroma formation (RR 0.59; 95%CI 0.34-1.01; p=0.05), length of hospital stay (mean difference [MD] -0.39 days; 95%CI -1.15- 0.36; p=0.92) or mortality (RR 0.96; 95%CI 0.55-1.68; p=0.88).
conclusionsThis systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials suggests that NPWT reduces the incidence of surgical site infection and wound dehiscence after emergency laparotomy, supporting its use in high-risk patients. CENTRAL MESSAGE: Surgical site infections are a major postoperative complication after emergency laparotomies, contributing substantially to morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Strategies to reduce postoperative complications have increasingly focused on perioperative optimization through evidence-based, multimodal protocols. Retrospective analyses have demonstrated the efficacy of intermittent negative pressure wound therapy in diminishing the incidence of surgical site infections following laparotomy in patients undergoing gynecological and general surgical procedures. Nonetheless, the findings derived from randomized controlled trials have yielded inconsistent results. PERSPECTIVES: This original systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials demonstrated the efficacy of negative pressure wound therapy in reducing the incidence of surgical site infections and wound dehiscence among patients undergoing emergency laparotomy when compared to conventional dressings.
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.