OBJECTIVETo review and analyze the risk factors of postoperative surgical site infection (SSI) in geriatric patients who undergo surgical treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

METHODSA retrospective study was conducted on 143 geriatric patients who have undergone surgical treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Factors were classified into four types, namely, characteristics, tumor factors, general comorbidity factors, and perioperative factors. The primary outcome variable was the presence of SSI. A logistic stepwise regression model was used for the subsequent multivariate analysis, wherein only significant risk factors in the univariate analysis were included.

RESULTSAmong 143 cases, 33 showed postoperative SSI. Results of univariate analysis indicated that risk factors included age, body mass index (BMI), tumor location, tumor size, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), adult comorbidity evaluation-27 (ACE-27) score, previous radiotherapy, reconstructive method, operation time, and blood transfusion. Among these factors, six parameters were identified to have a significant factor association with the development of SSI, namely BMI, diabetes, ASA score, ACE-27 score, operation time, and reconstructive method.

CONCLUSIONSpecial attention should be given to factors associated with the development of SSI before operation of geriatric patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.