A comparison of two single-use negative pressure wound therapy devices in the prevention of surgical site complications following Cardiovascular surgery, A retrospective real-world evidence analysis.

Introduction: Post-operative surgical site complications (SSCs) represent a significant burden to healthcare systems globally and pose many challenges for patients undergoing Cardiovascular procedure1-3. This study aimed to determine whether the use of a single-use negative pressure wound therapy (sNPWT) system over closed surgical incisions could reduce the incidence of SSCs, the length of hospital stay (LOS), and index admission cost and 30-day costs between two commercially available devices (Device 1* and Device 2**).Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Premier PINC AI Healthcare Database (PHD) between 2017 to June 2022.  PHD comprises hospital-based, service-level, all-payer information on inpatient discharges. Patients were identified using ICD-10-PCS and CPT codes and/or billing records while the devices were identified via text search from the hospital billing table on the day of surgery. 1:1 Propensity score matching (PSM) was used, and the following variables were matched: age, gender, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), smoking, and steroid use. Standardized differences were calculated for the variables included in the PSM model to ensure the matching was balanced.Results:After matching 2552 patients were included for each device. 29% vs 38% were females, 22% vs 21% were smokers and 2.7% vs 2.6% used steroids, with a mean age of 66, CCI was 2.6 and 2.5 for Device 1 and Device 2 respectively.  57% of the procedures were CABG, 20% embolism and 17% heart valve. The incidence of dehiscence was 0.47% vs 1.14 p= 0.006, LOS 6.33 vs 6.86 days p