Pedicle flap reconstruction for treatment of infected median sternotomy wounds after cardiac surgery in overweight and obese patients: proposal of a management algorithm based on a case series analysis

Table 2 Demographic and clinical characteristics of NW and OW patients requiring flap reconstruction after sternotomy

Preoperative parameter	Study group (n = 28)	Control group (n = 20)	p-value
Age	64.6 (11.9)	69.7 (11.5)	0.14
Sex: Male	12 (43%)	12 (60%)	0.38
BMI (kg/m²)	32.5 (4.75)	22.7 (1.55)	< 0.05
ASA-4 score	7 (25%)	8 (40%)	0.16
NYHA 3-4 score	16 (57%)	9 (45%)	0.56
Referral time after sternotomy (days)	48 (11–393)	49 (10–5508)	0.1
NPWT duration (days)	20.5 (1–39)	20.5 (0–49)	0.76
Complete sternectomy	10 (36%)	7 (35%)	1

The BMI difference was statistically significant, p was < 0.05
Time from sternotomy to referral is expressed in median range form, as it is not normally distributed. All continuous variables are normally distributed and therefore expressed in mean-deviation form. Categorical variables are expressed in terms of absolute (n) and relative (%) frequencies. Statistical significance: p-value<0.05
NS, not significant

ISSN: 1471-2482