title: Efficacy of subcutaneous penrose drains for surgical site infections in colorectal surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether a subcutaneous penrose drain would decrease the superficial surgical site infection (s-SSI) rate in elective colorectal surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a comparative study of the historical control type. Intervention consisted of the use of penrose drain in elective open colorectal surgical wounds. The outcome was an incidence of s-SSI. The patients were risk stratified according to the depth of subcutaneous tissue.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 131 patients (40 patients with high s-SSI risk) in the prior period (from July 2008 to June 2009, when no penrose drains were inserted) and 151 patients (75 patients with high s-SSI risk) in the latter period (from June 2010 to November 2011, when penrose drains were inserted). The overall s-SSI rate was 6.1% and 5.3% during the two periods (P = 0.770), and the s-SSI rate in the high s-SSI risk group was 15.0% and 8.0% (P = 0.242).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although penrose drain was not observed to significantly reduce s-SSI, there tended to be a reduced risk of s-SSI in the high s-SSI risk group.
authors.affiliation: Shinya Imada, Shingo Noura, Masayuki Ohue, Tatsushi Shingai, Toshinori Sueda, Kentaro Kishi, Terumasa Yamada, Hiroaki Ohigashi, Masahiko Yano, Osamu Ishikawa, Department of Surgery, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osaka 537-8511, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Imada
authors.forename: Shingo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Noura
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohue
authors.forename: Tatsushi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shingai
authors.forename: Toshinori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sueda
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kishi
authors.forename: Terumasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohigashi
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
keywords: Colorectal surgery; Open surgery; Subcutaneous penrose drains; Subcutaneous tissue; Surgical site infections