Infection following surgery for biliary tract cancer was common and associated with prognosis, particularly for gallbladder carcinoma, according to results from a retrospective cohort study published in Surgery. Yuko Kitagawa, MD, and colleagues examined the prevalence of postoperative infection, infection-related factors, and prognostic factors among 290 patients who underwent curative resection. Postoperative infections were observed in 146 patients (50.3%), with 115 patients (39.7%) experiencing severe infections. Infections occurred more often in patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy and bile duct resection. Compared with no infection, patients with an infection had a significantly worse prognosis (median overall survival, 62 vs 38 months; P=0.046). A diagnosis-specific analysis showed no correlation between infectious complications and overall survival in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, perihilar cholangiocarcinoma, distal cholangiocarcinoma, and carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater, although they were a poor prognostic factor in gallbladder carcinoma (P=0.031).
