Caesarean section

Sorbact® dressings after caesarean section

Childbirth is one of life’s great miracles. Today, caesarean section is performed as an emergency life-saving operation or as a planned procedure. Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common postoperative complication for a woman undergoing caesarean section. By understanding that the choice of dressing can make a difference, we have come a long way.

 

Read more about Sorbact® for other postoperative wounds

What can you gain from using Sorbact® after a caesarean section?

Sorbact® can be a part of preventing and managing birth-related wounds and post-caesarean section infection. Learn more about how the risk of SSI can be reduced in our video and afterwards calculate your potential savings with Sorbact®.

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Sorbact® reduces the risk of infection in wounds

Sorbact® bacteria and fungi binding dressings prevent and treat wound infections by lowering the bioburden.1,2 Bacteria irreversibly bind and anchor to the unique Sorbact® surface. Safe and effective removal of bacteria reduces the bioburden in wounds which facilitates the healing process. With the Sorbact® mode of action, development of bacterial or fungal resistance is not expected.

Since there are no active agents released into the wound3, Sorbact® dressings can be used right from the start, in all patients, in the short-term or for prolonged treatment of already infected wounds.

Read more about the Sorbact® solution

What’s the impact of SSI after a caesarean section?
Voices from a quality improvement program in caesarean section4

It just made me really worried and stressed. I struggled to breastfeed anyway and gave up while recovering from infection.

Woman F

I had a two-year-old and a newborn to look after so relied heavily on family to help me, due to pain and appointments. I was put on two types of antibiotics following my C-section, but had developed an infection anyway.

Woman A

As a result, my husband had to take extra unpaid leave from work which affected us financially.

Woman E

Hands holding a tablet showing Sorbact value calculator

Calculate potential savings with Sorbact®

Based on a randomized controlled study we have set up a calculator for you to estimate the value of preventing SSI in caesarean section. Read more about this study

Disclaimer: This value calculator is for illustrative purposes only. Any savings will vary depending on the hospital’s practices, internal routines and procedures, type of patients and the quality of efforts made locally.

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Estimate potential savings with Sorbact®

Number of caesarean sections per period

Current incidence of SSI

Using Sorbact®

2.5%

Average cost of an SSI

The cost of dressings (to protect and prevent infection) is not included in the calculation. It is often a minor part of the total.

Standard dressing
Sorbact®

total number of SSIs

less SSIs

A relative SSI risk reduction of 65 % is expected when using Sorbact®

Standard dressing
Sorbact®

total cost

cost savings for SSIs

A relative SSI risk reduction of 65 % is expected when using Sorbact®

Number of caesarean sections per period

Number of caesarean sections. A period is often a year for a hospital, region or country.

Current incidence of SSI

The incidence rate (the % of new SSIs within a time period) following a caesarean section vary between 3%-15%.1


1.Saeed KBM, Greene RA, et al. 2017. Incidence of surgical site infection following caesarean section: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol. BMJ Open. 7:e013037. link

Average cost of an SSI

Average cost for treating an SSI is approximately 4400€ at 2017 prices.1,2 The main cost driver is extra length of stay in hospital. Approximate additional costs attributable to SSI vary between 900€-7300€ depending on the type of surgery and the severity of the infection.3

Total cost of SSIs = number of SSIs x average cost of an SSI


1.Jenks PJ, Laurent M, et al. 2014. Clinical and economic burden of surgical site infection (SSI) and predicted financial consequences of elimination of SSI from an English hospital. J Hosp Infect. 86(1):24-33.link

2.Stanirowski PJ, Davies H, et al. 2019. Cost-effectiveness of a bacterial-binding dressing to prevent surgical site infection following caesarean section. J Wound Care. 28(4):222-228.link

3.Leaper DJ, Van Goor H, et al. 2004. Surgical site infection – a European perspective of incidence and economic burden. Int Wound J. 1(4):247-273.link

Sorbact® is recommended by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in UK5

NICE medical technologies guidance mtg55 suggests that Leukomed® Sorbact®:

  • Reduces SSI in caesarean section
  • May reduce antibiotic use
  • May reduce readmissions from wound complications
  • Could save the NHS up to £5.3 million per year
  • Cost savings are expected

Leukomed® is a registered trademark of BSN Medical GmbH

Learn more
EWMA DOCUMENT

Sorbact® is recommended by EWMA6

Valuable information has been produced by EWMA. This paper provides the latest techniques for managing and preventing birth-related wounds and post-caesarean section infection. Sorbact® is the only dressing in the document that is indicated for preventing as well as treating already-infected surgical wounds.

Read more

Evidence on Sorbact® in caesarean section

Proven to prevent and treat wound infection in more than 40 clinical studies and in publications including over 7,000 patients, Sorbact® has more than 30 years of successful use in clinical practice. Today Sorbact® is helping patients in over 65 countries around the world and we are continuing this important work by collecting clinical data.

Published study

Sorbact® prevents wound infections

A randomized controlled study among 543 patients undergoing elective or emergency caesarean section, comparing Sorbact® Surgical Dressing to standard surgical dressing (1.8 % vs. 5.2 %) p=0.04.

Stanirowski PJ, Bizoń M, et al. 2016. Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating Dialkylcarbamoyl Chloride Impregnated Dressings for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infections in Adult Women Undergoing Cesarean Section. Surg Infect (Larchmt). 17(4):427-435. doi.org/10.1089/sur.2015.223

Read summary of study
Pilot study

Sorbact® reduces the need for antibiotics

A randomized controlled pilot study on 142 women undergoing caesarean sections. Requirement of systemic antibiotic: 7 % (Control) vs. 0 % (Sorbact®) p=0.03. Rate of SSI: 9.8 % (Control) vs. 2.8 % (Sorbact®) p=0.08.

Stanirowski PJ, Kociszewska A, et al. 2016. Dialkylcarbamoyl chloride-impregnated dressing for the prevention of surgical site infection in women undergoing cesarean section: a pilot study. Arch Med Sci. 12(5):1036–1042. doi.org/10.5114/aoms.2015.47654

Read summary of study

Listen to a presentation by Paweł Stanirowski MD PhD

Listen to the presentation by Paweł Stanirowski MD PhD, from the Congress of the European Society of Gynecology in Vienna 2019. He presented the results from his studies where Sorbact® was used to prevent SSI after caesarean section.

Cost savings with Sorbact® Surgical Dressing

543 women were recruited to the study and SSI rates were 1.8% and 5.2% for DACC™ surgical dressings and standard of care respectively. The DACC™ group had six fewer outpatient visits and 33 fewer days in the hospital. UK unit costs were applied and produced a cost saving of £119 (57.6%) per patient with DACC™ surgical dressings.

Stanirowski PJ, Davies H, et al. 2019. Cost-effectiveness of a bacterial-binding dressing to prevent surgical site infection following caesarean section. J Wound Care. 28(4):222-228.

Read full study

A new pathway showed equal SSI rates with Sorbact® Surgical Dressing and NPWT

Leukomed® Sorbact® was evaluated in a new wound management pathway in women with raised body mass index undergoing caesarean section. The results showed no change in SSIs compared to NPWT but there was potential cost savings.

Clarke L and Livesey A. 2021. Dressing evaluation and audit for women with raised BMI undergoing caesarean section. J Community Nurs. 35(2):49-53.

Leukomed® is a registered trademark of BSN Medical GmbH

Read full study

Reduced SSI rates for women undergoing caesarean section and cost-savings for the NHS

A quality improvement program was implemented by ABUHB maternity service to reduce SSIs after caesarean section. This was done by a multifactor approach including changes in pre-operative care, new drapes, implementation of Sorbact® Surgical Dressing and 4-5 days of undisturbed healing instead of 24 hours. This holistic approach to quality improvement reduced the SSI rate and showed cost savings for the NHS.

Taylor L, Mills E, et al. 2020. Reducing SSI rates for women birthing by caesarean section. J Community Nurs. 34(3):50-53.

Read full study

A systematic review and meta-analysis confirms that DACC™-coated dressings reduces SSI rates

A systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of wound dressings in the prevention of SSI after caesarean section. Six citations were included in the meta-analysis with two RCTs that assessed DACC™-coated wound dressings. Subgroup meta-analysis confirmed significant benefits of DACC™-coated dressings in SSI prevention.

Wijetunge S, Hill R, et al. 2021. Advanced dressings for the prevention of surgical site infection in women post-caesarean section: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 267:226-233.

Read full article

References

1.Gentili V, Gianesini S, et al. 2012. Panbacterial real-time PCR to evaluate bacterial burden in chronic wounds treated with Cutimed Sorbact. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 31(7):1523-1529.link
2.Mosti G, Magliaro A, et al. 2015. Comparative study of two antimicrobial dressings in infected leg ulcers: a pilot study. J Wound Care. 24(3):121-122, 124-127.link
3.Data on file. ABIGO Medical.
4.Taylor L, Mills E, et al. 2020. Reducing SSI rates for women birthing by caesarean section. J Community Nurs. 34(3):50-53.link
5.NICE. 2021. Leukomed Sorbact for preventing surgical site infection. NICE National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. 1-17.link
6.Childs C, Sandy-Hodgetts K, et al. 2020. Birth-Related Wounds: Risk, Prevention and Management of Complications After Vaginal and Caesarean Section Birth. J Wound Care. 29(Sup11a).link

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