Guidelines for Complications of Cancer Treatment Vol VIII Part B

ablative surgical treatment for carcinoma of the breast wastested in this prospective, randomized, double-blinded study.From May 1983 until December 1985, 118 women weredivided into two groups at random. Group 1 consisted of 59patients and received cefazolin and group 2 was made up of59 patients who received a placebo. The groups were similarwith respect to age, operative procedure, operative time andtime to discharge after operation. Three infections occurredamong those in group 1 and five among those in group 2 (p =0.72). The time to onset of infection was delayed in the patientsin group 1 versus those in group 2 (17.7 days versus 9.6 days,p = 0.04). Six of eight infections occurred in patients in whoman interval between biopsy and definitive surgical treatmentwas present. Prophylactic antibiotics in mammary operationsdid not reduce postoperative wound infections in this study.PMID: 2403697 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]12. The composition of serous fluid after axillarydissection.Bonnema J, Ligtenstein DA, et al. Eur J Surg. 1999Jan;165(1):9-13.OBJECTIVE: To analyse the composition of the serous fluidformed after axillary dissection. DESIGN: Descriptive study.SETTING: University hospital and teaching hospital, TheNetherlands. SUBJECTS: 16 patients whose axillas weredissected as part of a modified radical mastectomy for stage Ior II breast cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Chemical and cellular composition of axillary drainage fluidon the first, fifth, and tenth postoperative days compared withthe same constituents in blood and with reported data on thecomposition of peripheral lymph. RESULTS ANDCONCLUSION: On the first postoperative day the drainagefluid contained blood contents and a high concentration ofcreatine phosphokinase (CPK). After day one it changed to a20