Surgical wounds with or without dressing. Prospective comparative study.

Study aim: The aim of this study was to compare the infectious local risk when the wound dressing was removed or not after 48 hours, and to look for the other advantages or disadvantages of these two methods. Patients and method: Two groups of 50 patients who underwent a thoracic or abdominal procedure, class I or II according to Altmeier, have been randomly selected: one received a wound dressing after 48 hours, and the second did not. Results: The clinical features were comparable between the two groups. There was no significant difference in the outcome of the two groups of patients in terms of wound infection (only one infected wound in each group). Conclusion: Wound dressing usually seems unnecessary. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.