Risk factors and bacterial spectrum for pneumonia after abdominal surgery in elderly Chinese patients

Postoperative pneumonia is a common complication of abdominal surgery in the elderly. The aim of this study was to determine risk factors and bacterial spectrum for pneumonia after abdominal surgery in elderly Chinese patients. We performed a case–control study in a total of 5431 patients aged 65 years and over who had undergone abdominal surgery at the 2nd affiliated hospital of Kunming medical college between June 2003 and June 2011. Postoperative pneumonia developed in 86 patients (1.58%). Gram-negative bacilli were the principal microorganisms (82.86%) isolated from patients. The most common organisms isolated were Klebsiella spp. (28.57%), Acinetobacter spp. (17.14%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (17.14%). Multivariate analysis confirmed the following to be independent risk factors for postoperative pneumonia in the elderly after abdominal surgery: age ≥70 (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.16–3.22, p = 0.01), upper abdominal surgery (OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.18–3.64, p = 0.01) and duration of operation >3 h (OR 2.48, 95% CI 1.49–4.15, p = 0.00). Identifying these risk factors may help achieve better prevention and treatment for postoperative pneumonia in elderly patients after abdominal surgery.