Risk factors for surgical site infection in cervico-facial oncological surgery

Infection after head and neck oncological surgery is relatively frequent, and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.

The primary objective of this prospective study was to determine risk factors for Surgical Site Infection (SSI) in major head and neck cancer surgery.

A population of 137 head and neck cancer patients, of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology Francisco Gentil (Lisbon, Portugal), was prospectively studied in order to ascertain the correlation between 31 known risk factors and the presence of SSI.

The rate of SSI was 10.9%, with all of the infections being of the deep incisional type. A discriminant analysis and multiple logistic regression methods identified pre-surgical tracheostomy (p < 0.001), previous surgery (p = 0.001) and length of pre-operative hospital stay (p < 0.001) as the most significant risk factors for surgical site infections.

In order to minimize the risk of post-operative SSI in the context of head and neck cancer patients, particular attention should be paid to patients submitted to tracheostomy before surgery, to those submitted to previous oncological surgery, and to patients who are forced to remain in the hospital for prolonged periods of time before surgery.