[Bacterial complications in surgical management of esophageal cancer]

One of the most common cancers is esophageal carcinoma. The basic therapeutic approach is esophagectomy, one of the most extensive procedures in general surgery, potentially leading to serious postoperative complications, in particular respiratory complications. The objective was clinical and microbiological characterization of patients after the surgical removal of the esophagus for carcinoma. In 2020, a total of 14 patients underwent the surgery. Respiratory complications occurred in 57 % of them, with pneumonia leading to respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome being noted in 21 %. The identified bacterial pathogens were strains of Acinetobacter johnsonii, Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Enterococcus faecium. In one case, the patient's condition was complicated by fungal infection caused by Candida krusei. The study results warrant the need for close collaboration between the physician caring for a particular patient and a microbiologist that must be continuous and based on daily assessment of both microbiology test results and the patient's clinical condition.