Trends in bacterial resistance among perioperative infections in patients with primary ovarian cancer: A retrospective 20-year study at an affiliated hospital in South China

BACKGROUND: We aimed to analyze the epidemiological and drug-resistance trends among bacterial cultures from perioperative infections in patients with primary ovarian cancer. METHODS: Medical and bacteriological records for patients with ovarian cancer patients who developed perioperative infections after primary cytoreductive surgery from 1999 to 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The incidence of perioperative infections and the culture-positive percentage among patients in the first 10 years were 20.2% and 29.3%, respectively, and the equivalent rates in the second 10 years were 18.0% and 33.5%. The most commonly isolated pathogens in both year-groups were Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp., but the respective percentages differed between the groups. Some strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus spp. in the second 10-year group were resistant to linezolid and vancomycin, and ciprofloxacin resistance among Gram-negative bacteria isolates also increased in this group. However, resistance of Gram-negative bacteria to imipenem and meropenem was low among in both groups. CONCLUSION: The pathogen distribution in perioperative infections in patients with primary ovarian cancer undergoing cytoreductive changed slightly from 1999 to 2018, and the antibiotic resistance of the main isolated pathogens increased. These results indicate the importance of periodic bacterial surveillance of surgical infections in these patients.