Surgical site infections (SSI) lead to marked morbidity and imply a burden to acute healthcare services after surgery. A recent study investigated the reliability of a smartphone-delivered wound assessment tool to expedite diagnosis and treatment of SSI after emergency abdominal surgery. 

Adult emergency abdominal surgery patients were enrolled for the study and were randomised (1:1) to routine postoperative care or additional access to a smartphone-delivered wound assessment tool for 30-days postoperatively. Patient-reported SSI symptoms and wound photographs were collected on postoperative days 3, 7, and 15. The time-to-diagnosis of SSI (Centers for Disease Control definition) was assessed.

The results showed no significant difference in the 30-day SSI rate between trial arms, with 21 (9.4%) in smartphones vs 20 (7.4%) in routine care. 32.3% in the smartphone group, did not utilise the tool. Also, no significant difference in time-to-diagnosis of SSI was observed for patients receiving the intervention. However, patients in the smartphone group owned 3.7-times higher odds of diagnosis within 7 postoperative days. Also, the smartphone group substantially reduced community care attendance, similar hospital attendance, and significantly better experiences in accessing care. 

Thus Smartphone-delivered wound follow-up can be considered feasible following emergency abdominal surgery as it facilitates triage to the suitable level of assessment required, allowing earlier postoperative diagnosis of SSI.

Source- McLean KA, Mountain KE, Shaw CA. et al. Remote diagnosis of surgical-site infection using a mobile digital intervention: a randomised controlled trial in emergency surgery patients. npj Digit. Med. 2021;4, 160. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-021-00526-0