Selection of prophylactic antibiotics according to the microorganisms isolated from surgical site infections (SSIs) in a previous series of surgeries reduces SSI incidence after pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Background: The incidence of surgical site infections (SSIs) is high after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD).

Methods: We divided 116 consecutive patients who underwent PD into an early group (n = 58) and a later group (n = 58) according to time of surgery. In both groups, endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage was mainly employed for the patients with obstructive jaundice. In the later group, prophylactic antibiotics were selected according to the susceptibility of microorganisms isolated from SSIs in the early group. The incidence of SSIs was compared between the groups.

Results: The background characteristics (including methods of preoperative biliary drainage and microorganisms in the bile obtained before or during operation) of the patients were not significantly different between the groups, except for the serum albumin level, which was lower in the later group than in the early group (P = 0.0026). The incidence of SSIs was significantly lower in the later group (24.1 %) than in the early group (46.6 %) (P = 0.0116). Belonging to the later group was one independent negative risk factor for SSI.

Conclusions: Selection of prophylactic antibiotics on the basis of microorganisms isolated from SSIs in the early group contributed to the reduced incidence of SSIs in the later group after PD.