Remote assessment of surgical site infection (SSI) using patient-taken wound images: Development and evaluation of a method for research and routine practice.

This was a development and feasibility study, not a test of whether remote images improve SSI diagnosis, treatment, or patient outcomes compared with usual care. Only 52 of 89 patients took an image and 46 sent one; 37 did not take or transmit an image, and for 21 no images were received despite attempts to contact them. The sample was mainly white/White British and mainly abdominal wounds from general or vascular surgery, so it may not apply to other groups, wound sites or surgical specialties. Images were requested at one time point, about two to three weeks after surgery, so the method was not tested for earlier post-discharge checks. Some wounds were in locations where part of the wound could not be seen in a photo, and the authors note that some wounds may need in-person assessment. The reviewers judged whether images were sufficient to assess for SSI, not whether an SSI was present, and the study did not compare this with face-to-face assessment.

The study was supported by NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, the Royal College of Surgeons of England Bristol Surgical Trials Centre and the MRC ConDuCT-II Hub. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude that patient-taken wound images are proven to detect surgical site infection or to replace face-to-face follow-up. This study tested whether patients could take and send images and whether surgeons judged them usable; it did not compare remote assessment with usual care or show better infection outcomes.