Abstract
Although the frequency of surgical site infection (SSI) has decreased in elective digestive surgery, it remains high in stage 3 wounds such as those which occur in panperitonitis. We examined retrospectively whether subcutaneous drains helped prevent incisional SSI (I-SSI) associated with panperitonitis surgery for digestive duct perforation. We analyzed data on 97 patients who underwent surgery for small intestinal (18), colon (36), and appendix (43) perforations between April 2006 and December 2011. Forty received subcutaneous drainage and 57 did not. All drains used were the closed and self-sustaining suction types of size 10 Fr. I-SSI occurred in 4/31 (12.9%) in the drainage group and 25/66 (37.9%) in the non-drainage group (p=0.0097). In the 42 patients with colon perforation, I-SSI decreased from 54.5% to 7.1%, demonstrating the usefulness of subcutaneous drainage. There was no difference between drainage systems in the frequency of I-SSI. Subcutaneous drains can reduce the frequency of I-SSI caused by wound pollution from panperitonitis surgery, provided that drain removal time, prevention of obstruction, and effective tube placement are considered.
