To Compare the Prophylactic Subcutaneous Drain versus No Drain in Caesarean Section of Obese Women
Author(s): Rahila Imtiaz*, Bushra Tasneem, Zubaida Masood, Erum Jahan, Syed Hassan Ahmed Rizvi, Syed Hussain Ahmed Rizvi and Hamida Ghulam Hussain
Abstract
Objective: Caesarean section in obese women is associated with an increased possibility of wound complications, involving hematoma, abscess formation, seroma, dehiscence, and infection at surgical site. One of the frequent, so far questionable, practices in CS is the prophylactic use of a subcutaneous drainage to prevent wound complications. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of subcutaneous drain with no drain following Caesarean section of obese women. Methodology: This was a cross sectional observational study conducted in the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics using non-probability convenient sampling technique. The duration of the study was about 6 months. A total of 138 obese pregnant women with BMI above 30kg/m2 undergone emergency or elective caesarean section were separated into two groups; 66 patients had subcutaneous drain included in group A and 72 patients whom did not insert subcutaneous drain included in group B. Independent t-test was applied to compare the outcomes between the two groups. P-value of <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: A total of 138 obese pregnant women undergone cesarean section were selected with their mean age was 30.63 ± 3.967 years in group A and 30.0 ± 4.475 years in group B. Post-operative antibiotic was used in 66(100.0%) in Group A and 67(93.1%) in group B with significant association between them (p=0.029). 10(15.2%) patients were readmitted due to wound complications in Group A and 21(29.2%) patients in Group B with significant association between them (p=0.049). An insignificant association found between group A and B in terms of Wound Dehiscence (p=0.956), Seroma (p=0.779), Hematoma (p=0.416) and Abscess Formation (p=0.598). Conclusion: This study concluded that subcutaneous drainage insignificantly reduced wound complications such as seroma, hematoma, wound dehiscence and abscess formation in obese women after a caesarean section. Furthermore, chances of readmission to hospital were significantly increased in women without subcutaneous drain.