A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Wound Complications after a Caesarean Section in Obese Women

(1) Background: Caesarean sections in obese patients are associated with an increased risk of surgical wound complications, including hematomas, seromas, abscesses, dehiscence, and surgical site infections. The aim of the present study is to perform a meta-analysis and systematic review of the current literature focusing on the strategies available to decrease wound complications in this population. (2) Methods: We reviewed the data available from the PubMed and the Science Direct databases concerning wound complications after caesarean sections in obese women. The following key words were used: caesarean section, cesarean section, wound complication, wound morbidity, and wound infection. A total of 540 papers were retrieved, 40 of which were selected for the final systematic review and whereas 21 articles provided data for meta-analysis. (3) Results: The conducted meta-analyses revealed that the use of prophylactic drainage does not increase the risk of wound complications in obese women after a caesarean sections (pooled OR = 1.32; 95% CI 0.64-2.70, p = 0.45) and that vertical skin incisions increase wound complications (pooled OR = 2.48; 95% CI 1.85-3.32, p < 0.01) in obese women, including extremely obese women. (4) Conclusions: Subcutaneous drainage does not reduce the risk of a wound complications, wound infections, and fever in obese women after caesarean sections. Negative prophylactic pressure wound therapy (NPWT) may reduce the risk of surgical site infections. The evidence of using a prophylactic dose of an antibiotic before the caesarean section is still lacking.

Automated summary

The study found that prophylactic drainage did not increase the risk of wound complications in obese women after cesarean sections, while vertical skin incisions increased the risk of wound complications in obese women.