TY  - JOUR
AU  - Adogwa, Owoicho
AU  - Khalid, Syed I.
AU  - Elsamadicy, Aladine A.
AU  - Voung, Victoria D.
AU  - Lilly, Daniel T.
AU  - Desai, Shyam A.
AU  - Sergesketter, Amanda R.
AU  - Cheng, Joseph
AU  - Karikari, Isaac O.
PY  - 2018
TI  - The use of subfascial drains after multi-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: does the data support its use?
JF  - Journal of Spine Surgery; Vol 4, No 2 (June 30, 2018): Journal of Spine Surgery
Y2  - 2018
KW  - 
N2  - Background: Subfascial drains are routinely used after multi-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) procedures despite little evidence to support their use. Proponents of drain use argue that drain placement reduces the incidence of post-operative hematomas and surgical site infections (SSI). The aim of this study is to determine whether the use of subfascial drains after multi-level ACDFs are associated with a decreased incidence of hematomas and SSIs.   Methods: This is a retrospective study of 321 consecutive adult patients (18 years and older) with degenerative cervical stenosis that undergoing an index multi-level ACDF procedure. Only patients undergoing multilevel ACDF were included in the study. Patients were separated into one of two groups depending whether a subfascial drain was placed during surgery. The decision to place a drain was based on surgeon preference. Baseline characteristics, operative details, as well as rates of hematoma formation and SSIs were gathered by direct medical record review.  Results: Of the 321 patients enrolled in the study, 58 (18%) patients had subfascial drains placed at the time of surgery. Baseline demographics and co-morbidities were similar between both cohorts; however, on average, patients in the “Drain Use” cohort were older when compared to those in the “No Drain” cohort (64 vs. 56 years old, P
UR  - https://jss.amegroups.org/article/view/4178