Abstract: Objective To investigate the incidence of postoperative infection in the elderly patients receiving laparoscopic cholecystectomy(LC), and to investigate the influencing factors. Methods A total of 140 elderly patients who underwent LC in Geriatric Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2021 to December 2022 were enrolled in this study. The incidence of infection during hospitalization was recorded, and the baseline data and laboratory indicators including white blood cell count(WBC), platelet count(PLT), albumin(ALB), procalcitonin(PCT) and C-reactive protein(CRP) were collected. The influencing factors of postoperative infection in the elderly patients after LC were analyzed by Logistic regression analysis. Results Among the 140 elderly patients receiving LC, 28 cases(20%) presented with infections during hospitalization. Compared with the non-infection group, the infection group showed higher proportion of surgeries conducted more than 72 hours after admission, higher incidence rate of gallbladder stones and lower ALB level(P<0.05 or P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that surgeries conducted more than 72 hours after admission, the presence of gallbladder stones, and low serum ALB level was independent risk factors for postoperative infections in the elderly patients after LC(OR=21.012, 9.082, 0.888, P<0.05). Conclusions Surgeries conducted more than 72 hours after admission, gallbladder stones and low serum ALB level can affect the incidence of postoperative infection in the elderly patients after LC.

Key words: laparoscopic surgery, aged, postoperative infection, risk factors