Infection reporting in patients undergoing irreversible electroporation of locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Abstract

Intraoperative bile cultures (IOBCs) taken during pancreatic surgery are commonly performed and there has been limited evidence that a positive IOBC could aid in perioperative adverse event (AE) management. Therefore, this study aims to describe infection management in patients undergoing irreversible electroporation(IRE). An Institutional Review Board(IRB)-approved prospective database was utilized from 8/2016 to 6/2022, with 127 pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients included. A total of 28 patients that underwent IRE also had a simultaneous positive IOBC and the remaining 99 patients that underwent IRE had negative IOBC. A total of 11(39%) of the patients with a positive IOBC had AE's, and 38 (38%) of the patients with negative IOBC had AE's. Both groups had similar rates of AEs leading to new hospitalization and prolonged hospitalizations. Overall, there was no correlation between a positive IOBC and a patient developing an AE. The findings of this study provide insights that improve the infectious management of patients undergoing IRE.