Subcutaneous Closed-Suction Drainage Does Not Affect Surgical Site Infection Rate Following Elective Abdominal Operations: A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

The overall incisional SSI rate was comparable between the drain and no-drain groups. However, subcutaneous closed-suction drainage was not found effective in preventing SSI in our study except in a subgroup of patients with colorectal malignancies and lower abdominal incisions.

Incisional Surgical Site Infection after Elective Open Surgery for Colorectal Cancer

“…This study attempted to address these potential sources of variation by adopting strict CDC definitions and having prospective infection assessments performed by a single surgeon. We adopted intraoperative antiseptic measures, including wound protector placement [13], syringe pressure irrigation of subcutaneous fat tissue [14], and subcutaneous closed-suction drainage [15]. On this condition, the incidence of incisional SSI was 14.7%, well within values generally reported in the literature (roughly 15%) [6–8, 16, 17].…”

European Hernia Society guidelines on the closure of abdominal wall incisions

“…Therefore, their use should be driven by a proven benefit. One systematic review [89] and several RCTs [90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98] on the use of subcutaneous drains in abdominal surgery were found. They cover a wide range of operative indications: liver surgery, colorectal surgery, cholecystectomy, gynaecological surgery, caesarean section, and gastric bypass surgery.…”

Prävention postoperativer Wundinfektionen

“…Das wurde grundsätzlich nur für geschlossene Drainagensysteme gezeigt [16,203]. Auch für diese ist der Vorteil bezüglich der Vermeidung einer SSI in den aktuellen Studien nicht mehr nachweisbar [204][205][206][207][208][209][210][211]. Für die prophylaktische Drainage konnte in der kolorektalen Chirurgie kein präventiver Einfluss auf die Anastomosenleckage und die SSIRate nachgewiesen werden [212].…”