Abstract
BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection is a serious complication associated with significant morbidity, mortality and health care expenditure. AIMS: To determine the clinical effectiveness and economic impact of using iodine-impregnated incise drapes for preventing surgical site infection. METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library and CINAHL databases were systematically searched. Critical appraisal and synthesis of clinical evidence informed a decision analytical cost-consequence model. FINDINGS: Nine studies were included in the systematic literature review. Evidence from cardiac surgery patients was considered appropriate to inform the cost analysis. The economic model evaluation estimated cost savings of £549 per patient with the iodophor-impregnated drape in the deterministic analysis and a mean cost saving per patient of £554,172 per 1000 in the probabilistic analysis. CONCLUSION: Using iodine-impregnated drapes in cardiac surgery patients may effectively reduce infections and provide cost-savings, but further research is required.