Does povidone-iodine application in surgical procedures help in the prevention of surgical site infections? An updated meta-analysis

Introduction Surgical site infections (SSIs) occur after an operative procedure and can range from superficial to deep wound infections. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have proposed guidelines recommending measures to prevent SSIs. Intraoperative measures are largely focused on decontamination of the skin and intraoperative wound irrigation using soap and antiseptics and are simple, efficient, and cost-effective measures to reduce SSIs. Povidone-iodine (PVI) is a topical antiseptic widely used for the reduction of SSIs. Aim A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the efficacy of preoperative or intraoperative use of PVI from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Material and methods A systematic literature review was conducted using MEDLINE and Central databases for RCTs that involved PVI application versus saline or no treatment control groups across various surgical categories. The primary outcome was SSI or post-operative wound infections. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled risk ratio and subgroup analyses were performed. Results A total of 59 RCTs were included in the meta-analysis with information from 20,497 patients. A reduction in overall SSI incidence was found (RR = 0.70, 0.60–0.80, p = 0.0002, I2 = 44%). Subgroup analyses showed that the comparator treatment and type of procedure did not modify the effect of PVI on SSI incidence. However, inconsistent results on SSI incidence were obtained when the data were stratified by PVI application method and surgery category. Conclusions The results of the meta-analysis provide support for the preoperative or intraoperative use of PVI in decreasing the incidence of SSI.