The Relationship Between Postoperative Pneumonia and Endotracheal Suctioning Under General Anesthesia in Ophthalmic Surgery: A Retrospective Study.

OBJECTIVE: Postoperative pneumonia is the third most common postoperative complication. It may result from aspiration of secretions accumulating in the subglottic space during general anesthesia (GA). However, the relationship between endotracheal suctioning (ETS) during extubation from GA emergence and postoperative pneumonia has not been well investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of ETS during extubation in prevention of postoperative pneumonia in ophthalmic surgery under GA in our medical center from 2011 through 2015.

METHODS: Three thousand, seven hundred and ninety-four patients receiving ophthalmic surgery under GA were included and divided into two groups by the anesthesiologists. The first group underwent the conventional ETS during extubation, while the other group was extubated without ETS. The incidences of postoperative pneumonia were compared between the two groups to find the correlation between ETS during extubation and postoperative pneumonia. In addition, other complication such as postoperative hemorrhage was also recorded.

RESULTS: Of the 3,794 patients undergoing ophthalmic surgery under GA, 2,187 (58%) patients underwent extubation with ETS, whilst 1,607 (42%) patients were extubated without ETS. The incidence rates of postoperative pneumonia with or without ETS during extubation were both 0%. Besides, the incidence rates of postoperative hemorrhage were also both 0% in two groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Extubation from GA without ETS seemed not to increase the risk of postoperative pneumonia. Thus, no routine ETS during extubation seemed not to be a risk factor for postoperative pneumonia under GA in ophthalmic surgery.