Evidence mapPaperPMID 39398697Full record

ArticleCureus2024

Evaluation of Surgical Site Infection Rates in Traumatic Surgical Fixation and Arthroplasty Performed in Laminar Flow Versus Non-laminar Flow Theatres During the COVID Pandemic.

Daniel A Lewandowski, Adnan Hussain, Charki Chun, Lynden Chiang, Sashin Ahuja

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In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Daniel A LewandowskiTrauma and Orthopaedics, Univeristy Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, GBR.
Adnan HussainTrauma and Orthopaedics, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, GBR.
Charki ChunTrauma and Orthopaedics, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, GBR.
Lynden ChiangTrauma and Orthopaedics, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, GBR.
Sashin AhujaTrauma and Orthopaedics, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, GBR.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction Laminar flow (LF) in theatres has become the standard of care in orthopaedic implant surgery. Most of the evidence for laminar flow use is based on arthroplasty surgery, with early studies showing a significant reduction in infections. We conducted a retrospective comparative study to assess surgical site infection (SSI) rates in consecutive patients undergoing surgery for trauma in LF and non-laminar flow (NLF) theatres. Methods Due to COVID-19 safety restrictions, trauma surgery was performed in non-laminar flow theatres during the pandemic. We identified consecutive patients who had trauma surgery pre- and post-pandemic from February 2019 to June 2021 to avoid selection bias. A total of 1809 patients were identified for the study, and the relevant patient details were collected through the hospital operating theatre software (Bluespier) and patient records (Welsh Clinical Portal). There were 917 in the laminar theatre group and 892 in the non-laminar theatre group. For the purpose of this study, we recorded SSI rates within the first 90 days. The two groups were statistically similar in terms of age and gender of the patients. Results Nineteen patients developed surgical site infections in non-laminar flow theatres and 25 patients in laminar flow theatres. There was no significant difference between the SSI rate in laminar flow theatres (2.72%) as compared to non-laminar flow theatres (2.13%) (p=0.399). There was no link between infections and the duration of surgery. Two patients in the laminar flow group were MRSA-positive and were excluded. Conclusion In our study, the laminar flow theatres did not show a statistically significant reduction in surgical site infections. We conclude in the practical environment of trauma theatres the theoretical advantage of laminar flow does not translate to an observable reduction of infections.

Indexed as

covid-19 outbreaklaminar flownon-laminar flowsurgical site infectionssurgical site infections (ssi)trauma & orthopaedicstrauma surgery

Identifiers

PMID39398697
PMCPMC11467769

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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 Socratic graph.