Postoperative Intracranial Infection in Pediatric Brain Tumor Surgery: A Retrospective Study of Risk Factors and Clinical Outcomes

Objective : Postoperative intracranial infection is a common complication following pediatric brain tumor resection. However, data regarding its clinical characteristics and perioperative risk factors in this population remain limited. This study aimed to comprehensively characterize these clinical features and identify independent perioperative risk factors associated with infection. Methods : We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of pediatric patients who underwent intracranial tumor resection at our center. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the clinical characteristics of the cohort. Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of postoperative intracranial infection. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify independent perioperative risk factors associated with postoperative intracranial infection. Results : A total of 772 pediatric patients who underwent intracranial tumor resection were included. Postoperative intracranial infection occurred in 169 patients (21.9%). Multivariate logistic regression identified younger age as a significant risk factor (OR = 0.83 per year increase, 95% CI: 0.77–0.88, p < 0.001), along with infratentorial tumor location (OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.02–3.13, p = 0.043), ventricular involvement (OR = 2.53, 95% CI: 1.53–4.21, p < 0.001), preoperative fever (OR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.33–3.24, p = 0.001), longer surgical duration (OR = 1.02 per minute, 95% CI: 1.02–1.02, p < 0.001), and increased intraoperative blood loss (OR = 1.01, 95% CI: 1.01–1.01, p = 0.001). Conclusions : This study characterizes the clinical features of postoperative intracranial infection and identifies specific perioperative factors associated with increased risk in pediatric patients undergoing brain tumor surgery.