Pattern of Post-Operative Infections Among Oral Cavity Cancer Patients in a Tertiary Care Cancer Centre: A...

Surgical site infections (SSIs) constitute a major problem among patients who undergo surgery for oral cancer and remain a substantial cause of morbidity, prolonged hospitalization and death. The aim of this study was to assess the microbial spectrum of post-operative wound infections and to assess the outcome of appropriate antibiotic usage in patients who underwent surgery for oral cancer. This was a prospective observational study done in a tertiary care cancer hospital. Patients who underwent surgery for cancers of the oral cavity during the period January 2014 to December 2016 were included in the study. The spectrum of infections, risk factors, microbial profile, antibiotic susceptibility pattern, treatment given and outcome were assessed. A total of 1431 patients who underwent surgery for cancers of the oral cavity during the study period were followed up. SSIs were noticed in 118 (8%) post-operative cases. This included 55 (76.4%) incisional SSIs and 17 (23.6%) organ/space SSIs. Culture of the surgical site in 72 infected patients yielded a total of 122 isolates. Thirty patients (41.6%) had polymicrobial infections. Gram-negative bacterial isolates (70.5%) outnumbered gram-positive bacterial isolates (27%). Majority of the patients (48 patients-66.6%) were in stage IV disease. Successful management of patients with bacterial infections depends on early identification of bacterial pathogens and selection of an effective antibiotic against the organism. Judicial use of antibiotics is also very essential to prevent the development of drug resistance.