Summary of findings 3. Continuous versus interrupted closure for laparotomy incisions.
| Continuous versus interrupted closure for laparotomy incisions | |||||
| Patient or population: patients undergoing a laparotomy incision Setting: community and hospital‐based, outpatient and inpatient, worldwide Intervention: continuous closure Comparison: interrupted closure | |||||
| Outcomes | Anticipated absolute effects* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | № of participants (studies) | Quality of the evidence (GRADE) | |
| Risk with interrupted closure | Risk with continuous closure | ||||
| Incisional hernia follow‐up: 1 year | Study population | RR 1.01 (0.76 to 1.35) | 3854 (11 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderate1 | |
| 95 per 1000 | 95 per 1000 (72 to 128) | ||||
| Wound infection at last follow‐up | Study population | RR 1.13 (0.96 to 1.34) | 10,039 (23 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderate1 | |
| 86 per 1000 | 97 per 1000 (83 to 116) | ||||
| Wound dehiscence at last follow‐up | Study population | RR 1.21 (0.90 to 1.64) | 9228 (21 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderate1 | |
| 24 per 1000 | 29 per 1000 (22 to 40) | ||||
| Sinus or fistula formation at last follow‐up | Study population | RR 1.51 (0.64 to 3.61) | 5082 (10 RCTs) | ⊕⊝⊝⊝ Very low1, 2,3 | |
| 24 per 1000 | 37 per 1000 (16 to 88) | ||||
| *The risk in the intervention group (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; RCT: randomised controlled trial; RR: risk ratio | |||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect Moderate quality: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different Low quality: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited: the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect Very low quality: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect | |||||
1Downgraded one level for serious risk of bias (includes at least one study with overall high risk of bias). 2Downgraded one level for inconsistency (I2 = 57%). 3Downgraded one level for imprecision (overlapping no effect).