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

Background: Research documenting the results of liver trauma surgery revealed a connection between prophylactic drainage (PD) and escalating infections or septic consequences.

Objectives: Meta-analysis research was conducted to review the wound complications (WCs) frequency of PD in liver resections (LRs).

Material and methods: Up until June 2024, comprehensive literature study was completed, and 757 related studies were reviewed. The 10 selected studies included 5,459 LRs at the beginning; 2,918 of them were drained and 2,541 were not. The dichotomous approaches and a fixed or random model were used to assess the WCs frequency of PD in LRs using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).

Results: Prophylactic drainage had significantly higher surgical site wound infection rate (OR = 1.97; 95% CI: 1.09-3.55, p = 0.02) compared to non-PD in in LR patients, though no significant difference was found among PD and non-PD in LR patients in infected intra-abdominal collections (IIACs; OR = 3.17; 95% CI: 0.93-10.80, p = 0.07).

Conclusion: Prophylactic drainage had a considerably greater surgical site wound infection rate, and there was no discernible difference between IIACs and non-PD in LR individuals. Nevertheless, because there were not many studies nominated for comparison in the meta-analysis, care must be used when working with its outcomes, and further research is warranted to confirm these findings.