The Efficacy of Antiseptic Treatment of Surgical Drains on Bacterial Colonisation and Surgical Site Infection Post Breast Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication in women with post-operative drains following breast surgery, with the risk being as high as 19%. The authors aimed to conduct the first meta-analysis to determine the efficacy of antiseptic treatment of drains to reduce the incidence of infections by comparing it to drains with no antiseptic coating. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed with an extensive search of the electronic databases retrieving 114 articles. Four articles met the inclusion criteria. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of SSIs and secondary outcome measures included the incidence of bacterial colonisation in the bulb fluid and drain tube. The incidence of SSIs was significantly lower in the antiseptic group compared to the control (CI 95% 0.09 - 0.82, p = 0.02). In addition, there was a lower incidence of colonisation from both the bulb fluid and drain tube with P values of < 0.00001 and P < 0.0001 respectively. The authors report the first meta-analysis within the literature showing the efficacy of antiseptic treatment of surgical drains on colonisation and SSIs following breast surgery. More high-quality trials are recommended to further the current evidence base.