This study enrolled 59 patients at Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin to investigate the impact of SPIO use for SNB on the care process, reimbursement, surgical time, and patient comfort compared with
99Tc.
4 The preoperative preparation time was significantly shorter for the SPIO group (SPIO, 5.4 ± 1.3 min vs TC
99, 82 ± 20 min;
p < 0.0001), even with omission of the time spent for lymphoscintigraphy (TC
99, 54.4 ± 13.6 min;
p < 0.0001). Also, the duration of the sentinel lymph node extraction was slightly shorter (SPIO, 5 min [range, 3–15 min] vs TC
99, 10 min [range, 7–15 min];
p = 0.151). With SPIO, the duration of the whole SNB procedure also was shorter (SPIO, 9 min [range, 4–15 min] vs TC
99, 10 min [range, 7–15 min];
p = 0.412) despite the fact that the iron-based system was a new method at our institution. Concerning pain assessment and reimbursement, the study could not detect any significant differences between the two groups. The study was limited by its small sample size, non-randomized group allocation, and variation in surgical procedures (mastectomy and breast-conserving surgery). In hindsight, detailed patient-reported experience measurements would have been favorable for examination of patient comfort.