ReviewCureus2022
Drains in Spine Surgery for Degenerative Disc Diseases: A Literature Review to Determine Its Usage.
Review in Cureus, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06820736 (A Prospective, Randomized Comparison Of Drainage Techniques After One- Or Two-Level Open Posterior Lumbar Decompression Or Decompression And Fusion), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers.
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.
A Prospective, Randomized Comparison Of Drainage Techniques After One- Or Two-Level Open Posterior Lumbar Decompression Or Decompression And Fusion
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gravity-drain versus closed-suction subfascial drainage following lumbar decompression and fusion.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2026Article
- Is a wound drain needed routinely after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion?North American Spine Society journal · 2025Article
- Surgeon Preferences Worldwide in Wound Drain Utilization in Open Lumbar Fusion Surgery for Degenerative Pathologies.Global spine journal · 2025Article
- Do drains alter the frequency of postoperative spinal epidural hematomas (SpEH) and surgical site infections (SSI) in predominantly lumbar spine surgery? Short review/perspective.Surgical neurology international · 2025Review
- A multidimensional in-depth analysis of postoperative pain after PLIF in patients with degenerative lumbar spine disease.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Superinfections of the Spine: A Single-Institution Experience.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Thoracolumbar fractures patients undergoing posterior pedicle screw fixation can benefit from drainage.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Negative versus natural drainage after single-level posterior lumbar interbody fusion. A prospective randomized study.Brain & spine · 2023Article
- Natural language processing for the automated detection of intra-operative elements in lumbar spine surgery.Frontiers in surgery · 2023Article
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 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
No guidelines currently exist for surgeons to follow regarding drain use after spine surgery for degenerative disc disease. Therefore, we conducted a literature review to determine what situations warrant drain placement versus those which do not. When placed, we further investigate optimal drain duration. The goal of this article is to provide spine surgeons insight into the current literature and guidance when deciding if a drain should be used or discontinued. We performed a PubMed search and analyzed 44peer-reviewed journal articles. Only studies that had the full article available were included. The highest-quality studies that were reviewed, demonstrated that in most situations using a drain is not associated with superior outcomes. It revealed that when drains are retained for a longer duration they run a greater risk of surgical site infection (SSI). Additionally, drains are associated with increased blood loss, a greater chance of requiring blood transfusions, and longer hospital stays. We conclude that drains are currently being overused in spine surgery for cases of degenerative disc disease, which exposes patients to unnecessary complications while providing minimal benefit.
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.