Is skin closure with cyanoacrylate glue effective for the prevention of sternal wound infections?

A best evidence topic in cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed whether cyanoacrylate glue was effective at preventing wound infection following sternotomy incision. Altogether more than 108 papers were found using the reported search, of which seven represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes and results of these papers are tabulated. We conclude that applying cyanoacrylate glue to a sternal wound has superior outcomes in terms of infection rates, both if applied preoperatively (decreasing from 10.8% to 2.7% or 7.8% to 1.1%, according to two studies) and postoperatively (4.9%–2.1%). This trend is true of both deep surgical site infections (0.6%–0%) and superficial site infections (4.3%–2.1%). Furthermore, in patients who had developed mediastinitis following cardiac surgery rates of recurrent sternal detachment and osteomyelitis were significantly reduced in cases where sealant was applied compared to controls (35.3% vs. 0%). In all studies examining hospital stay, duration was reduced in cases where cyanoacrylate glue was used, both in patients treated for recurrent mediastinitis (24.06 vs. 14.16 days) and those with uncomplicated recovery following cardiac surgery (13 vs. 9 days). In addition, two studies examining the use of cyanoacrylate glue to secure the sternum in complicated cases of recurrent detachment report success rates of 86% and 100%.