AQUACEL® Ag Surgical Dressing Reduces Surgical Site Infection and Improves Patient Satisfaction in Minimally Invasive Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study

The use of modern surgical dressings to prevent wound complications and surgical site infection (SSI) after minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty (MIS-TKA) is lacking. In a prospective, randomized, controlled study, 240 patients were randomized to receive either AQUACEL Ag Surgical dressing (study group) or a standard dressing (control group) after MIS-TKA. The primary outcome was wound complication (SSI and blister). The secondary outcomes were wear time and number of dressing changes in the hospital and patient satisfaction (pain, comfort, and ease of use). In the intention-to-treat analysis, there was a significant reduction in the incidence of superficial SSI (0.8%, 95% CI 0.00-2.48) in the study group compared to 8.3% (95% CI 3.32-13.3) in the control group (p=0.01). There were no differences in blister and deep/organ-space SSIs between the two groups. Multivariate analysis revealed that AQUACEL Ag Surgical dressing was an independent risk factor for reduction of SSI (odds ratio: 0.07, 95% CI: 0.01-0.58, p=0.01). The study group had longer wear time (5.2±0.7 versus 1.7±0.4 days, p<0.0001) and lower number of dressing changes (1.0±0.2 versus 3.6±1.3 times, p<0.0001). Increased patient satisfaction (p<0.0001) was also noted in the study group. AQUACEL Ag Surgical dressing is an ideal dressing to provide wound care efficacy, patient satisfaction, reduction of SSI, and cost-effectiveness following MIS-TKA.