Traumatic complications linked to prophylactic drain placement after hepatectomy: A meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Hepatobiliary Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Background:

• Liver trauma surgery research indicates prophylactic drainage may increase infection risk.
• Understanding the impact of prophylactic drainage on post-liver resection complications is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a meta-analysis evaluating the frequency of wound complications associated with prophylactic drainage in liver resections.
• To compare surgical site infections and intra-abdominal collections between patients with and without prophylactic drainage.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search identified 10 studies involving 5,459 liver resections up to June 2024.
• Meta-analysis utilized dichotomous approaches with fixed or random models to assess wound complication frequency.
• Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to compare outcomes.

Main Results:

• Prophylactic drainage was associated with a significantly higher surgical site wound infection rate (OR = 1.97; p = 0.02).
• No significant difference was observed in infected intra-abdominal collections between prophylactic drainage and non-drainage groups (OR = 3.17; p = 0.07).

Conclusions:

• Prophylactic drainage in liver resections is linked to increased surgical site infections.
• Further research is warranted to confirm these findings due to the limited number of studies included in this meta-analysis.