Lemaine, Valérie

Background Surgical site infections (SSIs) result in significant patient morbidity following immediate tissue expander breast reconstruction (ITEBR). This study determined a single institution's 30-day SSI rate and benchmarked it against that among national institutions participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP). Methods Women who underwent ITEBR with/without acellular dermal matrix (ADM) were identified using the ACS-NSQIP database between 2005 and 2011. Patient characteristics associated with the 30-day SSI rate were determined, and differences in rates between our institution and the national database were assessed. Results 12,163 patients underwent ITEBR, including 263 at our institution. SSIs occurred in 416 (3.4%) patients nationwide excluding our institution, with lower rates observed at our institution (1.9%). Nationwide, SSIs were significantly more common in ITEBR patients with ADM (4.5%) compared to non-ADM patients (3.2%, P=0.005), and this trend was observed at our institution (2.1% vs. 1.6%, P=1.00). A multivariable analysis of all institutions identified age ≥50 years (odds ratio [OR], 1.4; confidence interval [CI], 1.1-1.7), body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 vs. <25 kg/m2 (OR, 3.4; CI, 2.6-4.5), and operative time >4.25 hours (OR, 1.9; CI, 1.5-2.4) as risk factors for SSIs. Our institutional SSI rate was lower than the nationwide rate (OR, 0.4; CI, 0.2-1.1), although this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.07). Conclusions The 30-day SSI rate at our institution in patients who underwent ITEBR was lower than the nation. SSIs occurred more frequently in procedures involving ADM both nationally and at our institution.

Acupuncture is used to treat a variety of symptoms and conditions associated with cancer and cancer treatments. The present study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of providing acupuncture in the hospital setting for breast cancer patients and to evaluate the short-term effect of acupuncture on stress, anxiety, and pain. This was an open label study conducted at Mayo Clinic Hospital, Methodist and Saint Marys Campus, Rochester, Minnesota. A total of 20 adult breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomy and/or breast reconstruction were recruited and offered daily acupuncture intervention beginning postoperative day 1 and continuing for the duration of the hospital stay. Outcome measures included the Symptom Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Satisfaction Question and Was-it-Worth-it (WIWI) Questionnaire. It was found that acupuncture is a feasible option for postoperative breast cancer patients. In addition, it can significantly decrease the levels of anxiety (p = 0.0065), tension/muscular discomfort (p < 0.001) and pain (p = 0.023). The association between acupuncture and relaxation was found to be statistically borderline (p = 0.053). This feasibility study showed that acupuncture can be integrated into a busy postsurgical clinical practice. These results also suggest that acupuncture may be an important intervention in the postoperative setting for breast cancer patients.