Therapeutic effect of trans-drain administration of antibiotics in patients showing intractable pancreatic leak-associated pus drainage after pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Backgrounds/aims: To cope with intractable pus drainage from persistent pancreatic leak after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD), we have empirically performed local administration of high-concentration antibiotics cocktail solution into abdominal drains. The purpose of this study was to assess its therapeutic effect in patients showing intractable pus drainage after PD.

Methods: The study group was 10 patients who underwent trans-drain administration of high-concentration antibiotics cocktail solution. Another 10 patients were selected through propensity score matching for the control group. Their medical records were retrospectively reviewed with focus on comparison of pancreatic fistula (PF)-associated clinical sequences.

Results: Postoperative PF of grade B and C occurred in 7 and 3 patients in the study group and 9 and 1 patient in the control group, respectively (p=0.58). In the study group, a mean of 1.8 sessions of antibiotics cocktail solution (imipenem 500 mg and vancomycin 500 mg dissolved in 20 ml of normal saline) was administered. Two patients showed procedure-associated febrile episodes that were spontaneously controlled within 48 hours. At 2-4 days after the first-session of antibiotics administration, pus-like drain discharge turned to be serous with significantly decreased amount. The study group showed shortened postoperative hospital stay comparing to the control group (25.2±4.6 vs. 31.8±5.6 days, p=0.011). In both groups, no patient received radiological or surgical intervention due to PF-associated complications.

Conclusions: The results of our study demonstrated that trans-drain administration of antibiotics could be an effective therapeutic option for pancreaticojejunostomy leak-associated infection. Further validation of our result is necessary in large patient populations from multiple centers.