Alcohol consumption does not increase the risk of surgical wound complications in breast cancer patients

Seroma incidence and risk factors in women undergoing mastectomies as surgical breast cancer treatment

INTRODUCTION

Seroma is the most common early complication following surgical breast cancer treatment. Its development is associated with pain, scar complications, adjuvant therapy delays, the need for outpatient visits, and increased care costs.

OBJECTIVE

Assess seroma incidence and risk factors in women undergoing mastectomies.

METHOD

This study comprises a prospective cohort encompassing women aged 18 or over undergoing mastectomies as a breast cancer treatment. Patients underwent physiotherapy on the 1st, 7th, and 30th postoperative days for kinetic-functional, skin, and wound healing assessments and were attended to by nurses for surgical wound care, draining liquid on the 7th, 14th, and 21st postoperative days. Seroma was defined as the presence of local fluctuations requiring puncture, regardless of the punctured volume.

RESULTS

A total of 249 women were evaluated, with a mean age of 57.5 (SD = 11.8). A total of 77.1% were classified as overweight or obese, 60.2% were hypertensive, 21.3% were diabetic, 66.7% underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy and 62.7% underwent axillary lymphadenectomies. Seroma incidence was 71.1%, requiring, on average, two aspiration punctures until condition resolution. Overweight or obese women and those who underwent axillary lymphadenectomies exhibited 1.92- and 2.06-fold higher risk for seroma development (OR = 1.92; 95% CI 1.02-3.61; p = 0.042; and OR = 2.06; 95% CI 1.17-3.63; p = 0.012), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Seroma incidence was very high. Being overweight or obese and undergoing axillary lymphadenectomy comprise independent seroma development risk factors. This study is part of a randomized clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of applying compressive taping to prevent post-mastectomy seroma, which was approved by the Brazilian National Cancer Institute, Research Ethics Committee (2,774,824), and it is registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04471142, on July 15, 2020).

Current pathogens infecting open fracture tibia and their antibiotic susceptibility at a tertiary care teaching hospital in South East Asia

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Alcohol consumption does not increase the risk of surgical wound complications in breast cancer patients

Alcohol consumption, despite influencing several organic processes, has been scarcely studied regarding the risk of developing surgical wound complications after surgical breast cancer treatment. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between alcohol consumption and the development of surgical wound complications in women undergoing surgical treatment for breast cancer. A prospective cohort study was conducted, comprising 486 women between 40 and 69 years old, interviewed during the preoperative period and followed up for 30 days. The occurrence of seroma, necrosis, surgical site infection (SSI), dehiscence, ecchymosis, and hematoma were considered as outcomes. Alcohol consumption during the 30 days prior to surgery was reported by 20.8% of the patients, with 8.4% being occasional consumers and 12.4% regular consumers. Binge drinking was reported by 10.2% of the women. The presence of surgical wound complications was observed in 65.2%. The most frequent complications were seroma (54.3%), necrosis (17.7%), and SSI (7.8%). No statistically significant association between alcohol consumption and the development of cicatricial complications was observed.