Table 2.
Preoperative detection of sentinel lymph nodes using the short and long protocols
| Total | Short protocol n = 31 | Long protocol n = 98 | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lymphoscintigraphic detection rate, n (%) | 100/114 (87.8) | 20/27 (74.1) | 79/86 (91.9) | 0.020 |
| Bilateral lymphoscintigraphic detection rate, n (%) | 67/114 (58.8) | 14/27 (51.9) | 52/86 (60.5) | NS |
| Median number of SLNs per patient, (Q1–Q3) | 2 (1–4) | 2 (0–3) | 2 (1–4) | NS |
| Median number of right-sided SLNs per patient (Q1–Q3) | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–1) | 1 (0–2) | NS |
| Median number of left-sided SLNs per patient (Q1–Q3) | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–1) | 1 (1–2) | NS |
| Median time from radiotracer injection to lymphoscintigraphy, minutes (Q1–Q3) | 146 (35–900) | 61 (45–82) | 840 (30–900) | <0.001 |
| Median time from lymphoscintigraphy to surgery, min (Q1–Q3) | 180 (112–1156) | 99 (64–242) | 293 (135–1246) | <0.001 |
Q1–Q3 interquartile range from the 25th to the 75th percentile
SLN sentinel lymph node, NS nonsignificant