Antibiotic-irrigating wound protector reduce infectious complications

For patients undergoing robotic radical cystectomy with extracorporeal urinary diversion (RCUD), the use of antibiotic-irrigating wound protector (AWP) helps lower the rate of infectious complications, according to a study.

The study included 92 patients undergoing robotic RCUD, of which 46 used a traditional wound protector (TWP) and 46 received AWP. The primary outcome was the incidence of infectious complications at 30 and 90 days, with infections categorized as symptomatic urinary tract infection, blood stream infection, and surgical site infection.

Baseline patient characteristics between the two groups were generally similar. The overall complication rate was lower with AWP group than with TWP group both at the 30-day (26.1 percent vs 65.2 percent) and the 90-day mark (30.4 percent vs 67.4 percent).

With respect to infections, the AWP group had a significantly lower complication rate compared with the TWP group both at the 30-day (6.5 percent vs 30.4 percent; p=0.003) and at the 90-day time point (6.5 percent vs 37.0 percent; p=0.004).

The most common complications were symptomatic urinary tract infection and blood stream infections, requiring parenteral antibiotic treatment.

The findings provide evidence that AWP can be beneficial to patients undergoing robotic RCUD. This should help lower the morbidity of an already highly morbid procedure. Nevertheless, larger prospective studies are warranted.