摘要
Background/Purpose The covering of the sutured surgical wound with a sterile d ressing is usually considered a routine conclusion to an aseptic operation. The wound is usually left dressed for a minimum of 3 to 5 days. The main purpose of dressing is protection of the wound against bacterial contamination that remains a significant source of postoperative morbidity. The aim of this study was to c ompare the infectious local risk when the clean pediatric surgical wounds were d ressed or left exposed without dressing after the completion of wound closure. M ethods Four hundred fifty-one patients with clean surgical wounds were randomiz ed prospectively to receive dressing (n = 216) or have their wounds left exposed without any dressing (n = 235) after the completion of wound closure. Results I n the group that received wound dressing, wound infection developed in 3 patient s (1.4%), whereas in the group that had wounds exposed without any dressing, 4 patients (1.7%) developed wound infection. Conclusions In children, there was no significant difference in terms of wound infection after applying dressing o r leaving the clean surgical wounds exposed without any dressing after completio n of wound closure. Dressing clean surgical wounds may be unnecessary.
Background/Purpose The covering of the sutured surgical wound with a sterile d ressing is usually considered a routine conclusion to an aseptic operation. The wound is usually left dressed for a minimum of 3 to 5 days. The main purpose of dressing is protection of the wound against bacterial contamination that remains a significant source of postoperative morbidity. The aim of this study was to c ompare the infectious local risk when the clean pediatric surgical wounds were d ressed or left exposed without dressing after the completion of wound closure. M ethods Four hundred fifty-one patients with clean surgical wounds were randomiz ed prospectively to receive dressing (n = 216) or have their wounds left exposed without any dressing (n = 235) after the completion of wound closure. Results I n the group that received wound dressing, wound infection developed in 3 patient s (1.4%), whereas in the group that had wounds exposed without any dressing, 4 patients (1.7%) developed wound infection. Conclusions In children, there was no significant difference in terms of wound infection after applying dressing o r leaving the clean surgical wounds exposed without any dressing after completio n of wound closure. Dressing clean surgical wounds may be unnecessary.
