Johansen, N.J., & Hahn, C.H. (2015). Prophylactic antibiotics at the time of tracheotomy lowers the incidence of pneumonia. Danish Medical Journal, 62, A5107. Retrieved from http://www.danmedj.dk/portal/page/portal/danmedj.dk/dmj_forside/PAST_IS…
To estimate the prevalence of pneumonia after tracheotomy in patients with head and neck cancer, and to evaluate the effect of prophylactic antibiotics
Data on patients who underwent tracheotomy were obtained from health records, and patients were grouped according to whether they had been given prophylactic antibiotics. In all cases, tracheotomy was the primary operation. The comparison of ventilator-associated pneumonia was analyzed.
Pneumonia was defined as the clinical suspicion of pneumonia or the postoperative administration of antibiotics.
More patients who did not receive prophylaxis received antibiotics postoperatively (p = 0.04). The hospital stays of those given prophylactic antibiotics were seven days shorter (p < 0.01).
Prophylactic antibiotic administration for patients undergoing tracheotomy may reduce the risk of postprocedure ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Prophylactic antibiotic use in patients undergoing surgical procedures has been shown to reduce postoperative infections. The findings from this study add to that body of evidence, suggesting that this approach prior to tracheostomy provides a similar benefit in preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia.