Effect of wound irrigation on the prevention of surgical site infections: A meta-analysis

source extracted confidence: high 2026-04-09
#humans #povidone-iodine #surgical-wound-infection #therapeutic-irrigation #anti-bacterial-agents

Effect of wound irrigation on the prevention of surgical site infections: A meta-analysis

Fu et al., 2022 | Int Wound J | Meta Analysis

Citation

Fu Chunmei, Meng Linghong, ... Zhang Jingcen. Effect of wound irrigation on the prevention of surgical site infections: A meta-analysis. Int Wound J. 2022-Nov;19(7):1878-1886. doi:10.1111/iwj.13794

Abstract

We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of wound irrigation on the prevention of surgical site infections. A systematic literature search up to January 2022 was done and 24 studies included 4967 subjects under surgery at the start of the study; antibiotic irrigation was used with 1372 of them, 1261 were aqueous povidone-iodine irrigation, and 2334 were saline irrigation or no irrigation for surgical site infections prevention in all surgical populations. We calculated the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to evaluate the effect of different wound irrigation on the prevention of surgical site infections by the dichotomous method with a random or fixed-influence model. Antibiotic irrigation had significantly lower surgical site infections in all surgical populations (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.36-0.62, P < .001) compared with saline irrigation or no irrigation for the subject under surgery. Aqueous povidone-iodine irrigation had significantly lower surgical site infections in all surgical populations (OR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.20-0.81, P = .01) compared with saline irrigation or no irrigation for the subject under surgery. Antibiotic irrigation and aqueous povidone-iodine irrigation significantly lowered surgical site infections in all surgical populations compared with saline irrigation or no irrigation for the subject under surgery. Further studies are required.

Key Findings

Further studies are required.

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population See abstract
Sample Size 4967
Age Range See abstract
Condition See abstract

MeSH Terms

  • Humans
  • Povidone-Iodine
  • Surgical Wound Infection
  • Therapeutic Irrigation
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Odds Ratio
  • Anti-Infective Agents, Local

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Meta Analysis
  • Publication Types: Meta-Analysis, Journal Article, Retracted Publication
  • Vertical: iodine

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09