Maxillofacial infections in lithuanian hospitalised children and adolescents: a 17-years retrospective study.

Purpose: To analyse the epidemiology, treatment, and microbiological findings of hospitalised Lithuanian children and adolescents admitted due to maxillofacial infections over a 17-years period.

Methods: 428 medical records of paediatric (under the age of 18) patients hospitalised at Vilnius University Hospital from 2003 to 2019 due to a maxillofacial infection were reviewed. The data concerning patient sociodemographic characteristics, aspects related to a hospital stay, treatment modalities, microbiological findings, and sensitivity to antibiotics, were collected and analysed.

Results: The most prevalent condition was odontogenic maxillofacial space infection (28.7%), followed by lymphadenitis (21.7%). The mean (sd) age was 10.86 (4.8) years and the male-to-female ratio was 1.37:1. The majority of patients (83.4%) underwent surgical treatment. The mean (sd) hospital stay was 5.49 (2.9) days. The longest hospital stay was observed in the case of odontogenic maxillofacial space infections. A longer period of hospitalisation was generally associated with the presence of anaerobes and their resistance to antibiotics as well as multiple space involvement in deep neck space infections and a permanent causative tooth in odontogenic cases. The most commonly isolated microbiological species was Staphylococcus aureus spp.

Conclusion: The most common origin of maxillofacial infection was odontogenic among investigated Lithuanian children and adolescents. In the majority of cases, a penicillin group antibiotic was prescribed. Streptococci were the predominant bacteria in the cases of odontogenic infection, while Staphylococci were the most prevalent among non-odontogenic cases. Nearly 40.0% of isolated microorganisms were resistant to penicillin. High resistance to metronidazole was identified among anaerobic bacteria.