[Do nicotine and alcohol abuse effect the occurrence of postoperative bacterial infections?]

In a prospective study we evaluated patients with diagnoses of (1) inguinal hernia (n = 57), (2) gall bladder stones (n = 80), and (3) carcinoma of the colon (n = 76). The whole group included 213 patients who underwent clean, clean-contaminated or contaminated operations. All wound infections and postoperative bacterial infections such as pneumonia or urinary infection, were recorded. The patients were asked for risk factors at the time of hospitalization: 7.1% of all patients admitted an intake of alcohol of more than 60 g/day, and 15.6% of the patients smoked more than 20 cigarettes/day. We found a four times higher risk of postoperative infection for patients with an intake of more than 60 g alcohol/day. The rate of infection for smokers of more than 20 cigarettes/day is twice as high as for non-smokers or persons who smoke fewer than 20 cigarettes/day.