Pharyngeal flora in patients undergoing head and neck oncologic surgery
Barry, B.
Acta Oto-Rhino-Laryngologica Belgica 53(3): 237-240
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0001-6497 PMID: 10635400 Document Number: 503919
In order to specify the correlation between pharyngeal flora and the onset of surgical wound infection, we conducted two prospective studies on patients undergoing oncologic surgical procedures with expected contamination by pharyngeal secretions. In the first study, an oropharyngeal swab and a specific swab of the tumour were collected the day before, or on the day of surgery. As potential pathogens were always isolated in the oropharyngeal swab, it was considered that the tumour is not infected but is colonised by the oropharyngeal flora. A second pharyngeal swab was collected at day 5-7 in the second study. Preliminary results in the second study showed that 50% (11/22) of patients were orpharyngeal carriers of pathogens before surgery. This rate is 70% (15/22) in the post-operative period with a higher rate of gram negative rods. WSI occurred in 7/22 patients (32%), mainly with isolated rods similar to those observed in the oropharyngeal post-operative flora and potential pathogens in 5/7 patients. More patients are necessary to establish a link between pre-operative ropharyngeal pathogens and the occurrence of SWI.