Topical vancomycin employment in prophylaxis of sternotomy wound infection: initial experience

Introduction: Topical vancomycin has demonstrated effectiveness in decreasing the incidence of surgical wound infection; however, its usefulness in cardiac surgery remains in doubt. Objectives: To analyse the effectiveness of topical vancomycin in the reduction of sternal wound infection in cardiac surgery. Material and method: A retrospective observational study was conducted to compare the incidence of sternotomy infection in a cohort in which the usual antibiotic prophylaxis was used, with another cohort in which topical vancomycin was also used. Results: A total of 525 patients were included in the study, with 47.43% in the group treated with vancomycin. The incidence of infection was significantly higher in the group without vancomycin (3.6% versus 10.1%), implying a relative risk of infection of 2.8 (95% CI; 1.35-5.83, p = .0035). The differences were statistically significant as regards the incidence of superficial and deep infections (p= .05), but did not reach statistical significance in organ-space infection (p = .22). The beneficial effect of vancomycin was maintained in a logistic regression model adjusted for possible confounding factors (smoking, re-operation, nephropathy, and NYHA functional grade class): odss ratio 3.48 (95% CI; 1.44-8.41, p = .006). Gramnegative microorganisms were the main causative agent in the vancomycin group (57.1%), whereas it was grampositive in the group without vancomycin (66.70%), although these differences did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion: The use of topical vancomycin decreases the incidence of superficial and deep sternotomy wound infections. Its use could lead to a change in the aetiological spectrum of sternal wound infection. (C) 2018 Sociedad Espanola de Cirugia Toracica-Cardiovascular. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.