Effectiveness of iodine-impregnated incise drapes for preventing surgical site infection in patients with clean or clean contaminated wounds: A systematic literature review and cost-consequence analysis.

BACKGROUND

Surgical site infection is a serious complication associated with significant morbidity, mortality and health care expenditure.

AIMS

To determine the clinical effectiveness and economic impact of using iodine-impregnated incise drapes for preventing surgical site infection.

METHODS

MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library and CINAHL databases were systematically searched. Critical appraisal and synthesis of clinical evidence informed a decision analytical cost-consequence model.

FINDINGS

Nine studies were included in the systematic literature review. Evidence from cardiac surgery patients was considered appropriate to inform the cost analysis. The economic model evaluation estimated cost savings of £549 per patient with the iodophor-impregnated drape in the deterministic analysis and a mean cost saving per patient of £554,172 per 1000 in the probabilistic analysis.

CONCLUSION

Using iodine-impregnated drapes in cardiac surgery patients may effectively reduce infections and provide cost-savings, but further research is required.