S. Calvat et al., CLOSED DRAINAGE USING REDON CATHETERS FOR LOCAL TREATMENT OF POSTSTERNOTOMY MEDIASTINITIS, The Annals of thoracic surgery, 61(1), 1996, pp. 195-201
Background. Continuous irrigation has been used worldwide for the trea
tment of acute poststernotomy mediastinitis. However, its high rate of
failure led to the development of new methods, among them closed drai
nage with Redon catheters. Methods. We evaluated the results obtained
with Redon catheters in 70 patients, and compared them to those obtain
ed in 38 patients treated with continuous irrigation. Results. The two
treatment groups were not different for age, type of cardiac operatio
n, and initial severity of illness. Local failure of Redon catheter dr
ainage occurred less frequently (20 of 38 versus 9 of 70 patients; p =
0.0001). This reduced failure rate was mainly attributable to a lower
incidence of superinfections (10 of 38 versus 2 of 70 patients; p = 0
.0002), but also to a lower incidence of primary failure (10 of 38 ver
sus 7 of 70 patients; p = 0.026). Mortality was significantly decrease
d (15 of 38 versus 12 of 70 patients; p = 0.01). The other major advan
tage of this technique was the simplicity of its use. Conclusions. The
technique using Redon catheters should be considered an effective and
convenient treatment of acute poststernotomy mediastinitis.