2008 Volume 12 Issue 1 Pages 40-48
The aim of this study was to evaluate the preventive effects of perioperative oral care on postoperative pneumonia and to clarify the risk factors that predict postoperative pneumonia in patients with esophageal cancer.
【Methods】Fifty-three patients (49 males and 4 females, 63 ± 6.7 years old) who underwent extended esophagectomy in Kinki University Medical Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Postoperative pneumonia developed in 9 patients (17.0％). The 53 patients were divided into two groups depending on whether professional care was taken for oral hygiene (oral care (＋) group, n ＝ 29) or not (oral care (－) group, n ＝ 24), Perioperative factors including oral hygiene were compared to predict postoperative pneumonia.
【Methods】In the oral care (＋) group, pneumonia patients were not found after postoperative day 17. However, in the oral care (－) group, pneumonia patients were found even after postoperadve day 17. In patients who underwent extended esophagectomy with three field lymph node dissection, oral care tended to diminish the frequency of postoperative pneumonia and shorten both the postoperative duration to start oral feeding and postoperative stay. No single variables were identified that could predict postoperative pneumonia after esophagectomy.
【Conclusion】These results indicate that postoperative pneumonia after esophagectomy is induced by multiple factors and oral care is an effective treatment tool to prevent it. Perioperative treatment of patients with esophageal cancer should be carried out by a team of professionals, including oral care staff, who work together in a coordmated fashion to provide high-quality care.
