Surgical site infections in paediatric otolaryngology operative procedures

An assessment of the rate of surgical site infections associated with elective paediatric otolaryngology surgical procedures.

Prospective data was collected for a 3-week period for all children undergoing surgery where either mucosa or skin was breached. The parents of the children were requested to complete a questionnaire at 30 days after the operation.

Data was collected on 80 consecutive cases. The majority of cases were admitted on the day of the procedure. The procedures included adenotonsillectomy (24), grommets (12), cochlear implantation (6), bone-anchored hearing aid (2), submandibular gland excision (1), branchial sinus excision (1), cystic hygroma excision (3), nasal glioma excision (1), microlaryngobronchoscopy (13), tracheostomy (3) and other procedures (14). Nearly half the cases had more than one operation done at the same time. 26/80 (32.5%) patients had a temporary or permanent implant inserted at the time of operation (grommet, bone-anchored hearing aid, cochlear implant). 25/80 (31%) operative fields were classed as clean and 55/80 (68.7%) as clean contaminated operations. The duration of the operation varied from 6 min to 142 min. Hospital antibiotic protocol was adhered to in 69/80 (86.3%) cases but not in 11/80 cases. In our series, 3/80 (3.7%) patients had an infection in the postoperative period.

Surgical site infections do occur at an appreciable rate in paediatric otolaryngology. With the potential for serious consequences, reduction in the risk of surgical site infections is important.