Surgical site infections (SSIs) occur after an operative procedure and can range from superficial to deep wound infections. Global estimates of SSIs have ranged from 0.5 to 15% whereas studies in India have consistently shown higher rates from 23 to 38% (1). SSIs are a substantial cause of morbidity, prolonged hospitalization, hospital readmissions, and death and pose a considerable financial burden on healthcare systems (2, 3). Thus, the prevention and minimization of SSIs improve patient outcomes and reduce resource consumption (4, 5).

Strategies to reduce the risk of SSIs include interventions that can be delivered preoperatively, intraoperatively, or postoperatively. World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have proposed guidelines recommending measures to prevent SSIs (6–8). Sterile procedures, maintaining patient homeostasis, wound closure interventions, and prophylactic antibiotics are commonly used to reduce the risk of SSIs (9).

Biological evidence demonstrates that diabetes can increase susceptibility to SSIs by compromising the immune system due to diminished leukocyte bactericidal activity and reduced chemotaxis and oxidative killing potential of neutrophils (10–12). Additionally, perioperative hyperglycemia or elevated blood glucose levels around the time of surgery are contributing factors to the risk of SSIs (13, 14). The perioperative period is the time surrounding a patient's surgical procedure and includes preoperative (before surgery), intraoperative (during surgery), and postoperative (after surgery) phases. Surgical stress causes the release of counter-regulatory catabolic hormones and inflammatory cytokines along with insulin tolerance and altered pancreatic β-cell function causing hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia (15–17). Based on the positive association of elevated blood glucose levels and SSIs, the CDC has recommended perioperative glycemic control and blood sugar levels <200 mg/dl in patients with and without diabetes for the prevention of SSIs (8). It is expected that intensive blood glucose lowering strategies will help in minimizing the risk of SSIs. However, low blood glucose levels are inherently associated with the risk of hypoglycemia, making it necessary to consider these adverse events.

Although several studies and meta-analysis on the benefits of perioperative glycemic control using intensive glucose control regimens (with stricter and lower blood glucose target levels) vs. conventional regimens (with higher blood glucose target levels) have been performed, there was no clear evidence in support of either of the treatments.

The objective of this paper is to synthesize current evidence from available randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of intensive vs. conventional glucose control regimens in the prevention of SSIs in patients with and without diabetes. As lower blood glucose levels are associated with untoward outcomes like hypoglycemia, this meta-analysis also determines differences in hypoglycemia and mortality outcomes between intensive and conventional glucose control groups.

We followed the guidelines of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) normative recommendations in this study with the registration number SU#/IRB/2020/9342.

The present study provides current and valuable information on the efficacy of intensive blood glucose lowering strategies in decreasing the incidence of SSIs across various surgical categories and in different patient populations with regard to the diabetes status. In this meta-analysis, most studies utilized intensive insulin treatment for targeting blood glucose levels 70–120 mg/dl in the intraoperative and postoperative, and only postoperative phases of surgery.

Unlike a previous meta-analysis on a similar topic, the current meta-analysis attempts to categorize different subgroups and determine the efficacy of intensive insulin treatment by a subgroup, thus attempting to determine where tight glucose control is most likely to be beneficial. The utilization of intensive glucose control protocols in diabetic patient populations, cardiac, and abdominal surgical procedures, and during the intraoperative and postoperative and only the postoperative phase of surgery were shown to be associated with a decreased risk of SSIs compared to when conventional strategies were used. Furthermore, a decrease in the incidence of SSIs was observed irrespective of whether target blood glucose levels during intensive treatment were <110 or >110 mg/dl. Kao et al. (13) concluded that studies comparing intensive and conventional glycemic control regimens could not be meta-analyzed due to heterogeneity in patient populations, the type of surgery, mortality risk, timing of administration, the route of administration, and target blood glucose levels. A recent meta-analysis in 2017 by de Vries et al. included 15 RCTs and showed that stricter blood glucose target levels of <150 mg/dl using reduced SSIs with an inherent risk of hypoglycemic events (49). This meta-analysis includes more studies and provides pooled effect estimates for hypoglycemic events and adverse events such as mortality.

Despite the beneficial effects of lowering SSI rates, the current meta-analysis showed a higher risk of mortality caused by intensive insulin therapy. However, it is important to note most of this data came from the Normoglycemia in Intensive Care Evaluation-Survival Using Glucose Algorithm Regulation (NICE-SUGAR) study which included critically ill patients and in which the blood glucose target levels in the intensive insulin group were comparatively lower than other studies (81–108 mg/dl) (41). Similar results were seen in the study by Gandhi (35) wherein the achieved blood glucose levels were much lower. However, increased hypoglycemic events were seen in almost all studies that reported hypoglycemia as an outcome. High heterogeneity seen in the meta-analysis of the results for hypoglycemia can be attributed to differences in definitions of hypoglycemia used between the included trials, which were either the number of patients experiencing at least one hypoglycemic episode or the percentage of glucose measurements below a cut-off value. Increased monitoring of glucose levels in the intensive groups vs. conventional groups could have also resulted in measurement bias and increase in hypoglycemic events. Therefore, these results should be interpreted with caution and may not provide an exact estimate. Furthermore, hypoglycemic episodes in most studies were asymptomatic and the reduction in SSIs probably outweighs the risk of hypoglycemia, thereby supporting the use of intensive treatment. With regard to oral surgery, Tohya et al. (45) investigated the effects of intraoperative glycemic control by glucose–insulin infusion to achieve a target blood glucose level of 80–120 mg/dl in patients with major oral or maxillofacial surgeries compared to the infusion of Ringer's lactate solution alone. This study did not find a significant difference in the incidence of SSIs between the groups (p = 0.31) but is limited by a small sample size (n = 30) (45).

Although there was no significant difference between the rates of SSIs in intensive and conventional glucose control groups when stratified by the types of SSI, the small number of studies used to obtain the results should be considered during interpretation. Additionally, the types of SSI (superficial or deep) was reported only in case of cardiac surgeries. Most studies reported the incidence of overall SSIs or wound infections.

Although this meta-analysis provides insights into which cases intensive insulin treatment may be beneficial, there are some limitations. The definition of SSIs and follow-up times differed among studies, which can potentially affect the results. Several other studies were found during the literature search process that involved a comparison of intensive with conventional glucose control regimens, which reported infections as outcomes. However, the lack of data on SSIs or wound infections resulted in these studies being excluded from the analysis. Details on postoperative nutritional protocols and antibiotic or other concomitant medication use were not reported in most studies, which can confound the results. Most studies included in the meta-analysis were performed in patients undergoing cardiac surgery and those reporting ICU stay, which limits generalizability of the results to a wider patient population. In most cases, the achieved blood glucose levels are associated with the outcomes of SSIs and hypoglycemia and not the target level or route of administration, which makes it essential to report actual achieved levels in all the studies. Another important aspect that needs to be considered when evaluating perioperative glucose control for the reduction of SSIs is the safety and feasibility of administering insulin as this can increase healthcare costs and require skilled staff. The risk of bias was moderate to high in several domains due to unclear risks making it difficult to ascertain trial quality, which is another challenge.

Regardless of possible limitations, the present meta-analysis indicates that perioperative glucose control using an intensive regimen is beneficial in decreasing the incidence of SSIs in some patient populations, and surgeries depending on the timing of administration and should be considered. The use of intensive glucose lowering strategies should be carried out with regard to current surgical practices and procedures and regarding the patient status with adequate safety monitoring.

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

All procedures performed in the study were in accordance with the institutional and/or national research committee's standards and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

JL and QL derived a concept and designed this study. YH analyzed data and drafting of this manuscript. SZ collected the data and helped in data analysis. XB and SR: proofreading and final editing along with guarantor of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Scientific research topics of Sichuan Institute of Health Information (2019040) Construction and Application of Intelligent Learning Adverse Event Reporting System Based on Clinical Knowledge Base.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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