Abstract:Objective To evaluate the necessity of postoperative preset abdominal drainage tube in elderly patients with primary hepatic carcinoma. Methods Clinical data was retrospectively analyzed in elderly patients who received hepatectomy due to primary hepatic carcinoma from January 2011 to December 2016 in Affiliated Xuzhou Hospital of Southeast University. According to whether the abdominal drainage tube was preset, all patients were divided into two groups. The postoperative complications of the two groups were observed. Results A total of 97 patients met the group standard, of which 65 patients preset abdominal drainage tubes (preset group), and 32 patients did not preset the tube (no preset group). In preset group, there were 33 patients had 47 case-times complications(50.8%, 33/65), at the mean time there were 8 case-times complications of 7 patients in no preset group (21. 9%, 7/32), the difference between two groups was statistically significant (P＜0.05). Exudate of drainage tube incision was the most common complication (36. 9%) in the preset group, followed by surgical incision infection (9. 2%), pleural effusion (7. 7%), sub phrenic effusion (4. 6%) and abdominal infection (4. 6%), and bile fistula and abdominal bleeding were only 1 case each (1. 5%). In the no preset group, the most common complications were surgical incision infection (6. 3%), pleural effusion (6. 3%), and sub phrenic effusion (6. 3%), and there was no case of abdominal bleeding and bile fistula. The length of postoperative hospital stay in preset group was longer than that in the no preset group ［(14. 17±3. 37) d vs (10.66±1. 68) d, P<0.05］. Logistic multivariate regression analysis showed that preset of drainage tube, liver function Child-Pugh grade B and extensive hepatectomy were independent risk factors for postoperative complications in elderly patients with hepatic carcinoma (P＜0.05, P＜0.01). Conclusion It′s not necessary to postoperative preset abdominal drainage tube in elderly patients with primary hepatic carcinoma.