Efficacy of Adhesive Incise Drapes in Preventing Bacterial Contamination of Clean Canine Surgical Wounds

To investigate the efficacy of adhesive incise drapes in reducing bacterial contamination of clean canine surgical wounds. Randomized clinical trial. Dogs (n=100) having elective ovariohysterectomy or stifle surgery. Dogs were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: drape or no drape. Swabs obtained from the inner edge of the surgical wound at the beginning (swab 1) and end (swab 2) of surgery were submitted for microbial culture. Number of colony forming units was counted for all positive cultures and change in bacterial counts between swabs 1 and 2 was calculated. Percentage adhesive drape adherence at the end of surgery was calculated from a digital photograph of the surgical site. Duration of surgery/anesthesia and the anesthetic induction agent used were recorded. There was a significant increase in bacterial counts between swabs 1 and 2 (P=.001). Wound contamination was 14% (6 drape; 8 no drape; P=0.78) with Staphylococcus spp. most commonly isolated. Median percentage drape adherence at the end of surgery was 89.3% (0-100%). Duration of anesthesia was significantly related to wound contamination (P=.013), but duration of surgery and anesthesia induction agent were not. Adhesive incise drapes did not reduce wound contamination of clean canine surgical wounds. Use of adhesive incise drapes in clean surgical procedures is of questionable benefit in dogs.