Development and validation of a nomogram for predicting post-operative abdominal infection in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy

Aim: The aim of this retrospective study is to develop and validate a predictive nomogram for predicting the risk of post-operative abdominal infection (PAI) in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). Methods: A total of 360 patients who underwent PD were enrolled into this research and randomly divided into the development and validation group. The clinical data of patients were statistically compared and the nomogram was constructed based on the results of multivariate logistic regression analysis and stepwise (ste-pAIC) selection. The nomogram was internally and crossly validated by the development and validation cohort. The discriminatory ability of the nomogram was estimated by AUC (Area Under the receiver operating char-acteristic Curve), calibration curve and decision curve analysis. Results: After PD, post-operative abdominal infection occurred in 33.89% (n = 122) of patients. The nomogram showed that preoperative biliary drainage and C-reactive protein (CRP), direct bilirubin (DB), alkaline phos-phatase (AKP) levels on the 3rd postoperative day (POD3) were independent prognostic factors for abdominal infection after PD. The internal and cross validation of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was statistically significant (AUC = 0.723 and 0.786, respectively). The calibration curves showed good agreement between nomogram predictions and actual observations. The decision curves showed that the nomogram was of great clinical value. Conclusion: A nomogram based on perioperative risk factors such as preoperative biliary drainage, CRP, DB and AKP could simply and accurately predict the risk degree of PAI in patients undergoing PD.