Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Obese Women After Cesarean Delivery: A Negative Finding

Surgical-site infections comprise 20% of infections in hospitalized patients (accounting for up to $10 billion in U.S. healthcare expenditures annually) and are particularly common in obese women undergoing cesarean delivery. Recently, negative pressure therapy dressings (“wound VACs” [vacuum-assisted closure systems]) have been introduced with the putative benefits of decreasing tissue edema and potentially preventing surgical-site infections. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of these systems (and even fewer are adequately powered). Investigators at a single U.S. academic center randomized 441 women with class III obesity (BMI ≥40) undergoing cesarean delivery to negative pressure therapy (dressings were left in place until hosp…