The effectiveness of waxing or epilation compared to conventional methods of hair removal in reducing the incidence of surgical site infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis
BackgroundSurgical site infections (SSIs) pose a significant challenge to healthcare systems by elevating patient morbidity and mortality and driving up financial costs. Preoperative skin preparation is crucial for preventing SSIs; however, certain traditional methods of hair removal have been found...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Surgery |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2024.1395681/full |
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| author | Joseph Cutteridge Joseph Cutteridge Pierre Garrido Tim Staniland Arthur Lim Joshua Totty Ross Lathan Ross Lathan George Smith George Smith Ian Chetter Ian Chetter |
| author_facet | Joseph Cutteridge Joseph Cutteridge Pierre Garrido Tim Staniland Arthur Lim Joshua Totty Ross Lathan Ross Lathan George Smith George Smith Ian Chetter Ian Chetter |
| author_sort | Joseph Cutteridge |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundSurgical site infections (SSIs) pose a significant challenge to healthcare systems by elevating patient morbidity and mortality and driving up financial costs. Preoperative skin preparation is crucial for preventing SSIs; however, certain traditional methods of hair removal have been found to increase the risk of SSI development. Mechanical epilation and waxing constitute two relatively explored methods of hair removal, which may hold potential to accelerate wound healing due to the activation of stem cells within hair follicles. This review assesses the efficacy of preoperative hair removal via waxing and mechanical epilation in reducing SSI incidence.MethodsThis systematic review was prospectively registered with PROSPERO (ref: CRD42023423798) and a protocol previously published in a peer-reviewed journal. All findings are reported according to PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive search of Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, ClinicalTrials.gov and CINAHL. Inclusion criteria encompassed adult patients undergoing any surgical procedure, comparing waxing or epilation against other hair removal methods or no hair removal, with SSI incidence as the primary outcome. There was no restriction on study size or quality to ensure a comprehensive literature evaluation.ResultsThe review found no studies meeting the selection criteria out of 576 records screened.Discussion/conclusionThis review has identified no literature regarding the use of waxing and mechanical epilation as methods of preoperative hair removal. The lack of experimental evidence combined with the potential physiological advantages of these techniques indicate that this could be a valuable area of future research. These techniques may represent novel approaches to SSI prevention, particularly beneficial in high-risk surgical disciplines like vascular surgery.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=423798, PROSPERO (CRD42023423798). |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4f6a0be38f474eb2bf53f4e10d889971 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2296-875X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Surgery |
| spelling | doaj-art-4f6a0be38f474eb2bf53f4e10d8899712025-08-20T02:19:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Surgery2296-875X2024-12-011110.3389/fsurg.2024.13956811395681The effectiveness of waxing or epilation compared to conventional methods of hair removal in reducing the incidence of surgical site infections: a systematic review and meta-analysisJoseph Cutteridge0Joseph Cutteridge1Pierre Garrido2Tim Staniland3Arthur Lim4Joshua Totty5Ross Lathan6Ross Lathan7George Smith8George Smith9Ian Chetter10Ian Chetter11Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of York, York, United KingdomAcademic Vascular Surgical Unit, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, United KingdomDepartment of General Surgery, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Redhill, United KingdomLibrary & Knowledge Services, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, United KingdomAcademic Vascular Surgical Unit, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, United KingdomCentre for Clinical Sciences, Hull York Medical School, Hull, United KingdomDepartment of Health Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of York, York, United KingdomAcademic Vascular Surgical Unit, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, United KingdomAcademic Vascular Surgical Unit, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, United KingdomCentre for Clinical Sciences, Hull York Medical School, Hull, United KingdomAcademic Vascular Surgical Unit, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, United KingdomCentre for Clinical Sciences, Hull York Medical School, Hull, United KingdomBackgroundSurgical site infections (SSIs) pose a significant challenge to healthcare systems by elevating patient morbidity and mortality and driving up financial costs. Preoperative skin preparation is crucial for preventing SSIs; however, certain traditional methods of hair removal have been found to increase the risk of SSI development. Mechanical epilation and waxing constitute two relatively explored methods of hair removal, which may hold potential to accelerate wound healing due to the activation of stem cells within hair follicles. This review assesses the efficacy of preoperative hair removal via waxing and mechanical epilation in reducing SSI incidence.MethodsThis systematic review was prospectively registered with PROSPERO (ref: CRD42023423798) and a protocol previously published in a peer-reviewed journal. All findings are reported according to PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive search of Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, ClinicalTrials.gov and CINAHL. Inclusion criteria encompassed adult patients undergoing any surgical procedure, comparing waxing or epilation against other hair removal methods or no hair removal, with SSI incidence as the primary outcome. There was no restriction on study size or quality to ensure a comprehensive literature evaluation.ResultsThe review found no studies meeting the selection criteria out of 576 records screened.Discussion/conclusionThis review has identified no literature regarding the use of waxing and mechanical epilation as methods of preoperative hair removal. The lack of experimental evidence combined with the potential physiological advantages of these techniques indicate that this could be a valuable area of future research. These techniques may represent novel approaches to SSI prevention, particularly beneficial in high-risk surgical disciplines like vascular surgery.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=423798, PROSPERO (CRD42023423798).https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2024.1395681/fullsurgical site infectionepilationwaxinghair removalsystematic review |
| spellingShingle | Joseph Cutteridge Joseph Cutteridge Pierre Garrido Tim Staniland Arthur Lim Joshua Totty Ross Lathan Ross Lathan George Smith George Smith Ian Chetter Ian Chetter The effectiveness of waxing or epilation compared to conventional methods of hair removal in reducing the incidence of surgical site infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis Frontiers in Surgery surgical site infection epilation waxing hair removal systematic review |
| title | The effectiveness of waxing or epilation compared to conventional methods of hair removal in reducing the incidence of surgical site infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_full | The effectiveness of waxing or epilation compared to conventional methods of hair removal in reducing the incidence of surgical site infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_fullStr | The effectiveness of waxing or epilation compared to conventional methods of hair removal in reducing the incidence of surgical site infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effectiveness of waxing or epilation compared to conventional methods of hair removal in reducing the incidence of surgical site infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_short | The effectiveness of waxing or epilation compared to conventional methods of hair removal in reducing the incidence of surgical site infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
| title_sort | effectiveness of waxing or epilation compared to conventional methods of hair removal in reducing the incidence of surgical site infections a systematic review and meta analysis |
| topic | surgical site infection epilation waxing hair removal systematic review |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2024.1395681/full |
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