Graphical Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) is a serious complication after open-heart surgery. We investigated the association between DSWI and short- and long-term all-cause mortality in a large well-defined nationwide population.
METHODS
A retrospective, nationwide cohort study, which included 114 676 consecutive patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and/or valve surgery from 1997 to 2015 in Sweden. Short- and long-term mortality was compared between DSWI patients and non-DSWI patients using propensity score inverse probability weighting adjustment based on patient characteristics and comorbidities. Median follow-up was 8.0 years (range 0–18.9).
RESULTS
Altogether, 1516 patients (1.3%) developed DSWI, most commonly in patients undergoing combined CABG and valve surgery (2.1%). DSWI patients were older and had more disease burden than non-DSWI patients. The unadjusted cumulative mortality was higher in the DSWI group compared with the non-DSWI group at 90 days (7.9% vs 3.0%, P < 0.001) and at 1 year (12.8% vs 4.5%, P < 0.001). The adjusted absolute difference in risk of death was 2.3% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.8–3.9] at 90 days and 4.7% (95% CI: 2.6–6.7) at 1 year. DSWI was independently associated with 90-day [adjusted relative risk (aRR) 1.89 (95% CI: 1.38–2.59)], 1-year [aRR 2.13 (95% CI: 1.68–2.71)] and long-term all-cause mortality [adjusted hazard ratio 1.56 (95% CI: 1.30–1.88)].
CONCLUSIONS
Both short- and long-term mortality risks are higher in DSWI patients compared to non-DSWI patients. These results stress the importance of preventing these infections and careful postoperative monitoring of DSWI patients.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.