title: The volume and duration of wound drainage are independent prognostic factors for breast cancer.
abstract: Drain insertion is routinely done after breast cancer surgery. However, the prognostic value of suction drains in breast cancer is still unknown. This study aimed to reveal the prognostic value of drain insertion in breast cancer. A total of 296 female breast cancer patients undergoing surgery were retrospectively recruited. The correlation of drainage volume as well as drain duration with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis was assessed statistically. We found that breast cancer patients with a drainage volume of >240 ml had a better overall survival time. Breast cancer patients with more than 5 days postoperative drain duration would have better survival time. In addition, both the volume and duration of wound drainage are independent prognostic factors in multivariate analysis. Therefore, the volume of drainage as well as drain duration is a potential novel prognostic marker for breast cancer.
authors: Department of Nursing, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, West Wenhua Xi Road No. 107, Jinan, 250012, People's Republic of China, yanzhang_qilu@163.com.
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: Hua
authors: H
authors: Gao
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Gao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013396:Suction; D013997:Time Factors