Multiple German and Austrian hospitals confirm efficacy of Posthorax vest
Study reports “outstanding feature” of the vest
A non-industry-funded medical study conducted across multiple hospitals in Germany and Austria concluded that use of the Posthorax vest reduced “deep sternal wound complications and, therefore, also [resulted in] a reduction of hospitalization time.”
The study included 1,560 cases across four cardiac surgery departments in the following hospitals:
- Hospital Hietzing, Vienna, Austria
- University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Heart Center, Nuernberg, Germany
- Hospital Hietzing, Vienna, Austria
The study aimed to determine the effect of a Posthorax support vest on a major cause of post-heart-surgery morbidity and mortality—dehiscence (separation of the sternal wound) and mediastinitis (inflammation and infection of the chest area between the lungs).
The patients’ mean age was 68, with a range between 34 and 87 years.
Group B—the group that used the vest—had a “significantly shorter” mean hospital stay than Group A.
In Group A, the reoperation rate was 3.9% and in Group B it was as low as 0.6%.
The study thus concluded that “The use of the Posthorax sternum support vest is a valuable adjunct to prevent sternum-related complications after cardiac surgery. In the 90 days follow-up period, additional surgical procedures were significantly reduced by the use of the support vest.”
The reason the vest worked, the study continued, was due to its “outstanding feature” of being able to put pressure on and thus stabilize the sternum area specifically. This has been historically very difficult to do due to the sternum’s unique position in the body.
To learn more about the Posthorax vest, www.posthorax.com.