SynthesisEuropean archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery2017
Comparison of drain versus no-drain thyroidectomy: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of drains on surgical outcomes in thyroid surgery-a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of drainage versus no drainage after thyroid surgery on wound complications, a meta-analysis.International wound journal · 2023Pooled it
- Impact of negative pressure wound drainage compared with natural wound drainage after thyroid tumour surgery: A meta-analysis.International wound journal · 2023Pooled it
- Risk of hematoma after hemithyroidectomy in an outpatient setting: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of negative pressure versus natural drainage after thyroid surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2018Pooled it
- The effect of no drainage in patients who underwent thyroidectomy with neck dissection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Is routine drainage necessary after thyroid surgery? A randomized controlled trial study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Trial
- Comparison of Output Volume Thresholds for Drain Removal After Selective Lateral Neck Dissection: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2017Trial
- Association Between Cervical Drainage and Early Post-Thyroidectomy Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Is drain placement necessary in transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy via vestibular approach?BMC surgery · 2025Article
- Thyroid surgery outcomes in a 4-year series with intraoperative neuromonitoring: a retrospective cohort study.Gland surgery · 2025Article
- Comparison of the degree of patient satisfaction between transoral thyroidectomy and open thyroidectomy: a survey-based study.BMC surgery · 2025Article
- Activation of the Calcium-Sensing Receptor by a Subfraction of Amino Acids Contained in Thyroid Drainage Fluid.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2024Article
- Review
- Evaluation of Thyroidectomy Results Performed at a Tertiary Academic Center.Turkish archives of otorhinolaryngology · 2023Article
- A clinical comparative study of thyroid surgeries with and without drain.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2023Article
- Discrepancies in Thyroidectomy Outcomes Between General Surgeons and Otolaryngologists.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2022Article
- Are drains useful in eTEP ventral hernia repairs? An AWR surgical collaborative (AWRSC) retrospective study.Surgical endoscopy · 2022Article
- Drainage Tube Placement May Not Be Necessary During Endoscopic Thyroidectomy Bilateral Areola Approach: A Preliminary Report.Frontiers in surgery · 2022Article
- Intra- and postoperative complications using LigaSure™ Small Jaw in patients undergoing thyroidectomy: a register-based study.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Despite minimal evidence, thyroid drains are routinely used as a precaution against hematoma in thyroidectomy. We undertook the present meta-analysis to evaluate the patient outcomes associated with post-surgical drainage, and whether it offers any advantage over no drainage in patients undergoing thyroidectomy. Randomized and two-arm studies comparing the efficacy of total or partial thyroidectomy with or without post-surgery drainage, in patients undergoing thyroid surgery were included. Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases were searched until January 22, 2015, using the terms, "thyroidectomy, subtotal thyroidectomy, total thyroidectomy, drainage, thyroid cancer, and goiter." The primary outcome of interest includes postoperative complications such as infection, hematoma, hemorrhage, hypoparathyroidism, recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, seroma, and duration of hospital stay. 14 studies comprising of 1927 patients were included in the present analysis. The overall analysis revealed that patients in the drain group were more likely to have a higher postoperative infection rate than no-drain group (pooled OR = 2.94, 95 % CI 1.27-6.85, P = 0.012). Similarly, patients in the drain group had a longer hospital stay in comparison to those in the no-drain group (pooled difference in mean = 1.16, 95 % CI 0.72-1.59, P < 0.001). No statistically significant differences between the groups were found for hematoma, hemorrhage, hypoparathyroidism, recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, and seroma. In conclusion, the current practice of post-surgical drainage in thyroidectomy did not offer any significant advantage. On the contrary, post-surgical infection rate and duration of hospital stay was higher in patients in the drain group.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.