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

Research documenting the results of liver trauma surgery revealed a connection between prophylactic drainage (PD) and escalating infections or septic consequences. Meta-analysis research was conducted to review the wound complications (WCs) frequency of PD in liver resections (LRs). 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). 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). 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.