The Epidemiology and Risk Factors for Postoperative Pneumonia

Abstract

Postoperative pneumonia is a common complication of surgery, and is associated with marked morbidity and mortality. Despite advances in surgical and anesthetic technique, it persists as a frequent postoperative complication. Many studies have aimed to assess its burden, as well as associated risk factors. However, this complication varies among the different surgical specialties, and there is a paucity of reports that comprehensively evaluate this complication. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to review the epidemiology and risk factors of postoperative pneumonia in the setting of: 1) general surgery; 2) cardiothoracic surgery; 3) orthopedic and spine surgery; and 4) head and neck surgery.

Prediction of postoperative lower respiratory tract infections in tongue cancer patients based on pretreatment swallowing function

“…The PN‐LRTIs are common among patients managed with surgery of glossectomy, tracheotomy, and flap reconstruction. The incidence of PN‐LRTIs was 15.7% approximated with previous analyses (Chughtai et al, ; Li, Yuan, Zhang, Wang, & Ruan, ). In this study, we determined the predictive effect of the WST and the resection range of glossectomy on PN‐LRTIs in patients with TSCC.…”

“…Lower respiratory tract infection is a comprehensive description of a group of disease entities, according to guidelines on the management of LRTIs in adults by the European Respiratory Society, in collaboration with the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in 2011 (Chughtai et al, ; Woodhead et al, ). A synthesis of clinical manifestation and feasible auxiliary examinations should be taken into consideration for diagnosis of PN‐LRTIs, followed by: Patients were symptomatic of clinical features (cough, dyspnoea, tachypnoea, fever, pain in the chest, wheezing, and auscultatory abnormalities) during postoperation of tumor resection; Physical examination verified the presence of a dullness on percussion and rale on the auscultation; Chest film or computed tomography scan revealed evidence of new or progressive infiltration; Sputum culture and drug sensitivity test demonstrated the existence of infectious microbial pathogens. …”

Associations between seasonal variation and post-operative complications after total hip arthroplasty

“…However, when major medical or surgical complications occur, such as periprosthetic joint infections, pneumoniae or pulmonary emboli, they may amount to a large morbidity, financial, and time burden to patients and healthcare providers and may result in poor patient outcomes (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9). Therefore, it is important to understand the risk factors associated with each of these complications, in order to attempt to mitigate them appropriately during peri-operative period.…”

Health care-associated infections – an overview

“…Health care-associated infections and prevention strategy A significant number of patients develop pneumonia after surgery which includes both hospital-acquired pneumonia (pneumonia developing 48-72 hours after admission) and (as discussed above) VAP (pneumonia developing 48-72 hours after endotracheal intubation). 133 Postoperative pneumonia has been described as one of the leading consequences of all types of surgery with a high incidence of morbidity and mortality. 134 It increases hospital stays on an average of 7-9 days and increases health care costs from US$12,000 to US$40,000.…”