CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2018; 45(06): 542-549
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2018.00437
Original Article

Bacterial profile of suction drains and the relationship thereof to surgical-site infections in prosthetic breast reconstruction

Jeongmin Yoon
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Jae-Ho Chung
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Na-Hyun Hwang
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Byung-Il Lee
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Seung-Ha Park
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Eul-Sik Yoon
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
› Author Affiliations

Background Despite the increasing popularity of prosthetic breast reconstruction, scant data exist on the microbiological profile of drainage fluid from closed-suction drains and the relationship thereof to surgical-site infections (SSIs) in breast reconstruction surgery. This study aimed to determine whether bacteria isolated from drainage fluid were associated with the development of SSIs, and whether the bacterial profile of drainage fluid could be a clinically useful predictor of SSIs.

Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of 61 women who underwent tissue expander/implant or direct-to-implant reconstructions. Patient demographics and culture studies of drainage fluid from suction drains collected on postoperative day 7 were evaluated.

Results Sixteen patients (26.23%) were culture-positive, and 45 patients (73.77%) were culture-negative. The most frequently isolated bacteria were coagulase-negative staphylococci, followed by Staphylococcus aureus. SSIs were diagnosed in seven patients and were mostly resolved by systemic antibiotics; however, the tissue expander or implant was explanted in two patients. Positive culture of drainage fluid from closed-suction drains was significantly associated with the development of SSIs (P<0.05). The positive predictive value was 37.50%,and the negative predictive value was 97.78%.

Conclusions To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate a significant association between the microbiological profile of drainage fluid from closed-suction drains and the development of SSIs in patients with prosthetic breast reconstructions. The high negative predictive value suggests that microbial testing of drainage fluid from closed-suction drains may have clinical utility. Further prospective studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm our findings.



Publication History

Received: 08 May 2018

Accepted: 05 September 2018

Article published online:
03 April 2022

© 2018. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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