Fig. 1

Cumulative numbers of colonized seromas among patients in the saline group and the steroid group identified with at least one of the three culture methods including the conventional method and aerobic and anaerobic blood culture bottles during the first 30 days postoperatively in relation to the number of days after surgery. The difference between the two treatment groups was significant, p = 0.002. The present study was part of a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled intervention study that analyzed the effect of a single dose of 80 mg of steroids on seroma formation after mastectomy