Wound Infection After Ileostomy Closure: An Interim Analysis of a Prospective Randomized Study Comparing Primary Versus Circumferential Subcuticular Closure Techniques

Background: Circumferential subcuticular wound approximation (CSWA) of round shaped skin wounds after ileostomy take down is believed to lower the rates of surgical site infection (SSI). We performed this randomized trial to compare the rates of SSI and other short-term outcomes among primary linear skin closure (PC) and CSWA groups of patients.Patients and Methods: All patients undergoing ileostomy reversal during the study period were randomly assigned to either PC or CSWA. The primary outcome was the incidence of SSI as assessed by ASEPSIS scoring system. The secondary outcomes included healing time, length of post-operative hospital stay, and patients' satisfaction regarding cosmetic outcome, expectations, pain, time of healing, wound care, and activity on a five-point Likert scale.Results: Thirty-one patients (PC = 15; CSWA = 16) underwent ileostomy reversal during the study period. There was no SSI in the PC group whereas three patients developed SSI in the CSWA group but the result was not statistically significant (p = 0.23). The scores for time of healing (p < 0.001), wound care (p = 0.007), and activity (p < 0.001) were significantly better for PC compared with CSWA whereas there was no significant difference in the scores for cosmetic outcome, expectations, and pain. Healing time was shorter in the PC group (6.7 vs. 34.2 days; p < 0.001) whereas the post-operative length of stay was comparable (6.3 vs. 7 days; p = 0.27).Conclusions: Although there was no difference in the incidence of SSI among the two groups, the PC group fared better in terms of mean time to healing and requirement of wound care.