Prevention of postoperative pneumonia by perioperative oral care in patients with esophageal cancer undergoing surgery: a multicenter retrospective study of 775 patients.

Purpose Postoperative pneumonia is one of the major complications after esophageal cancer surgery. The risk factors associated with postoperative pneumonia are poor general health, smoking, decreased pulmonary function, diabetes mellitus, surgical stress, old age, postoperative aspiration, and oral hygiene. In this study, we examined the effect of perioperative oral care on reducing postoperative pneumonia since the evidence to-date is not clear.