Introduction: The impact of bacterobilia on postoperative surgical and infectious complications after partial pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is still a matter of debate.
Methods: All patients undergoing PD with and without a preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) with complete information regarding microbial bile colonization were included. Logistic regression was applied to assess the influence of bacterobilia on postoperative outcome.
Results: One hundred seventy patients were retrospectively analysed. Clinically relevant postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo ≥ III) occurred in 40 (23.5%) patients, clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistulas in 29 (17.1%) patients, and surgical site infections (SSIs) in 16 (9.4%) patients. Thirty-seven of 39 (94.9%) patients with PBD and 33 of 131 (25.2%) patients without PBD had positive bile cultures (p < 0.001). A polymicrobial bile colonization was reported in 9 of 33 (27.3%) patients without PBD and 27 of 37 (73%) patients with PBD (p < 0.001). Resistance to ampicillin-sulbactam was shown in 26 of 37 (70.3%) patients with PBD and 12 of 33 (36.4%) patients without PBD (p = 0.001). PBD (OR 0.015, 95% CI 0.003-0.07, p < 0.001) and male sex (OR 3.286, 95% CI 1.441-7.492, p = 0.005) were independent predictors of bacterobilia in the multivariable analysis. Bacterobilia was the only independent predictor of SSIs in the multivariable analysis (OR 0.143, 95% CI 0.038-0.535, p = 0.004).
Conclusions: Patients with a PBD show significantly higher rates of bacterobilia, polymicrobial bile colonization, and resistance to ampicillin-sulbactam. Bacterobilia is an independent predictor of SSI after PD.
Keywords: Bacterobilia; Pancreaticoduodenectomy; Postoperative pancreatic fistula; Surgical site infection.
© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.