THE EFFECT OF REUSABLE VERSUS DISPOSABLE SURGICAL DRAPES ON IMPLANTABLE CARDIAC ELECTRONIC DEVICE INFECTIONS

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if a disposable draping system is superior to reusable draping material in prevention of ICEDIs and hence lowering of the infection rate even further.

Study Design: Prospective observational study

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology & National Institute of Heart Diseases from November 2014 to October 2015

Material and Methods: This single-center, non-randomized, observational study included all the patients who underwent cardiac electronic device implantation and were divided into two groups on the basis of type of surgical drape used i.e. Group A (disposable drapes) and Group B (reusable drapes). Patients were followed up for at least 1 year. This study was approved by the ethical review board of AFIC&NIHD.

Results: A total of 374 cardiac devices were implanted over a period of one year. Group A comprised of 135 (36%) patients and group B comprised of 239 (64%) patients. The cumulative rate of ICEDI was calculated to be 6.6% (25 out of 374), with infection rate of 2% (5 out of 239) for group B while 14.8% (20 out of 135) for group A. A significantly greater rate of infection was reported for group A as compared to group B (p 0.0001).

Conclusion: In conclusion, efficiency of disposable surgical drapes has not been demonstrated to lower infections rates in fact to the contrary we demonstrated increase in infection rate.