Innovative Sternal Closure Techniques: Evaluating STRATAFIX™ and DERMABOND™ for Reduced Complications in CABG Patients
brief summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a new method of closing the breastbone after heart bypass surgery can improve healing and reduce complications in adults undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does this new closure method reduce infections and wound reopening? Does it improve healing, recovery, and overall patient outcomes? Researchers will compare patients who receive the new closure method to past patients who received the standard method to see if outcomes are better. Participants will: Receive the new closure method during their surgery (as part of standard care) Be followed during their normal recovery up to their 6-week follow-up visit Complete a short quality-of-life questionnaire (about 10 minutes) Have their recovery assessed, including healing, complications, and hospital use Researchers will also look at quality of life, heart complications, hospital readmissions, antibiotic use, scar appearance, and overall costs to understand the full impact of the new method.
detailed description
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) represents a major burden of morbidity and mortality. Approximately 8.5% of Canadian adults live with CVD and it is the second leading cause of death in Canada. In Canada, over 30,000 cardiac surgical procedures are performed each year, the vast majority via a sternotomy. Sternotomy complications can be life-threatening especially when they beget sternal dehiscence (SD) and deep sternal wound infection (DSWI). It is often unclear whether SD caused SWI or vice versa. Superficial sternotomy complications have a 5-10% occurrence, with DSWIs occurring in 0.2-5% of patients. When sternal complications do occur, patient-reported outcomes are impacted and mortality rates can be as high as 10-30%.
Typically a combination of steel wires and synthetic, absorbable sutures are used to close sternal incisions. Recently, the development of barbed sutures have been shown to reduce knot slippage and complications related to knot tying. Insufficient data on their feasibility and safety in cardiac surgery has limited their use in the field. Furthermore, research has demonstrated the benefits of otherskin closure systems, that combines 2-octyl cyanoacrylate with a self-adhesive polymer mesh tape, but their effects have been minimally investigated on sternal wound closures (SWCs). Moreover, the combinatory effects of barbed sutures and mesh-based antibiotic skin adhesives on SWCs have not been investigated.
Surgical site infections (SSIs) in CABG are often sternal wound infections which are classified as deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) and superficial sternal wound infection (SSWI). DSWIs, also known as mediastinitis, have an incidence of 1-5% and are associated with the highest SWI mortality rates ranging between 10-47%. Mediastinitis is the inflammation of the tissue and organs within the mediastinum (an area in the chest that contains vital organs such as the heart, trachea, and esophagus). In contrast, SSWIs have a slightly higher incidence of 0.5-10%, with a much lower mortality rate of 0.5-5%, and affect the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and pectoralis fascia. Considering DSWI can affect highly protected organs in the mediastinum, it is predicted that DSWI usually occurs due to preoperative contamination, meanwhile, SSWI is a more superficial infection and is hypothesized to begin on the epidermis and move inside, through the tissue layers. Importantly, DSWI and SSWI share similar risk factors such as diabetes, pre- and post-operative complications, and obesity.
The goal of the study is to determine if implementing a combination of barbed sutures (STRATAFIX™) and a mesh-based topical skin adhesive (DERMABOND™ PRINEO™ ) on sternal wound closures will reduce the incidence of sternal complications, such as sternal dehiscence and sternal wound infection, in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. The investigators hypothesize that this combined approach will significantly reduce sternal dehiscence and wound infections, leading to a measurable decrease in patient morbidity and mortality.