Tissue repair in neonatal and paediatric surgery: Analysis of infection in surgical implantation of synthetic resorbable biomaterials.

BACKGROUND: There has been increased interest in the use of biomaterials that resorb completely leaving only the patient's native tissue. Synthetic materials are advantageous for tissue repair because they are highly customisable. The infection rate of using resorbable natural materials in paediatric surgery has recently been outlined, but there has not yet been a review of the use of synthetic resorbable materials in paediatric surgery.

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review analyses the risk of infection after implantation of fully resorbable synthetic biomaterials in paediatric cases.

METHODS: The literature was searched from January 1970 to January 2018 (inclusive), specifically searching for paediatric cases (0-18 years old), use of synthetic resorbable materials and infection.

RESULTS: The infection rate in 3573 cases of synthetic resorbable material implantation was 1.1% (41 cases). A Chi-squared test for independence found infection rate to vary among materials. Of the many biomaterials identified in this review, the highest infection rates were seen in Suprathel's use in burns injuries (12.1%).

CONCLUSIONS: This review found a low infection rate in synthetic resorbable materials used in paediatric surgery, with particularly strong evidence for low infection risk in LactoSorb® use.