Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Hospital stay raises infection risk in dogs with Penrose drains
By Charlesworth, T & Sampaio, E·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2024·Eastcott Referrals, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effect of hospitalisation on the rate of surgical site infection in dogs with Penrose drains.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 208 dogs that had Penrose drains placed in their wounds were monitored for complications and infections after surgery. The study found that about 41% of the dogs experienced some complications, with 17% developing infections. Interestingly, dogs that went home with the drain in place within 24 hours had similar rates of complications and infections as those that stayed in the hospital for care. This suggests that for many dogs, going home soon after surgery may not increase the risk of problems related to the drain.
People also search for: dog surgery infection risk · Penrose drain care at home · dog wound care after surgery
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to retrospectively report complication and infection rates associated with the use of Penrose drains in a large population of dogs; and to compare complication and infection rates of dogs hospitalised for maintenance of their Penrose drains with those that were discharged home with their drains in place. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective search of medical records from 2014 to 2022 for dogs that had a Penrose drain placed into a wound in one institution. Our population was sub-divided into dogs discharged home with a drain in place; dogs discharged only after drain removal; and dogs recovered part of the time in hospital and part at home (with the drain in situ). Postoperative complications were graded using the Clavien-Dindo scale. RESULTS: Two hundred and eight dogs were included. The overall complication rate was 40.9% (85/208), with most complications considered minor. The overall infection rate was 16.9% (35/207). Dogs discharged home with the drain in situ <24 hours after surgery (n=136) had similar complication (39.0%) and infection (16.2%) rates to dogs kept hospitalised for drain care (n=50, 42.9%, 18.4%) and dogs kept hospitalised for >24 hours but discharged with the drain in situ (n=18, 50.0%, 22.2%). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Our study results show no significant influence on the complication or infection rates between dogs that were hospitalised for drain care and those discharged home with drains in situ within 24 hours of surgery.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38099425/