The effect of octreotide on the duration of postmastectomy wound drainage: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Following mastectomy, prolonged wound drainage delays adjuvant therapy and also prolongs hospitalization in an otherwise fit patient. This study determined the effect of octreotide on the duration of postmastectomy wound drainage. Methods: Patients scheduled for modified radical mastectomy were randomized into a treatment group that received 100 µg of octreotide and a control group that received 1 mL of sterile water intravenously 8 hourly for 5 days from the first postoperative day. Sociodemographic data, time to drain removal, total drain volume, and incidence of seroma were obtained. The groups were compared for the time to drain removal, total drain output, average drain output per day, and incidence of seroma. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: Forty-one female breast cancer patients were recruited. The mean age was 53.1 ± 13.0 years. The most common histologic variant was invasive carcinoma of no special type (n = 27; 65.9%). Although not statistically significant, patients in the intervention group had a lower median time to drain removal of 11 days (interquartile range [IQR] = 3) compared with 13 days (IQR = 3) in the control group (P = 0.106) and similarly had a lower median total drain output compared with controls (892.0 mL vs. 1182.8 mL; P = 0.095). Both groups were comparable in terms of postoperative complications and these occurred in 13 patients (31.7%), the most common being seroma (n = 11; 50.0%). Conclusion: Octreotide had no statistically significant effect on either the total drain output or the duration of postmastectomy wound drainage among breast cancer patients.