Selective Oral Decontamination of the Esophagus to Reduce Microbial Burden in Patients Undergoing Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer (SODA)—First Results from a Proof-of-Principle Study

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Postoperative pneumonia and other infectious complications after robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy still contribute to morbidity and mortality. Selective oral decontamination of the esophagus prior to surgery might reduce the rate of infectious complications. However, its impact on the esophageal microbiota is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze whether selective oral decontamination of the esophagus prior to surgery reduces postoperative pneumonia rates and alters the esophageal microbiome. <b>Methods:</b> We conducted a proof-of-principle study including 22 patients who underwent robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy. Thirteen patients were treated with 50 mg amphotericin B, 8 mg tobramycin, and 10 mg colistin orally 7 days prior to surgery, intraoperatively, and 5 days postoperatively. The remaining nine patients received standard-of-care treatment (no oral decontamination). The esophageal microbiome was assessed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon libraries which were annotated using the Ribosomal Data Project. The incidence of postoperative (at discharge from hospital or 30 days, whichever was later) infectious complications was assessed. <b>Results:</b> Selective oral decontamination was associated with reduced overall rates of infectious complications (7.7% vs. 55.5%, <i>p</i> = 0.008) and postoperative pneumonia (0% vs. 33.3%, <i>p</i> = 0.007). Alterations in the esophageal microbiome depending on selective oral decontamination were detectable. The microbiomes of patients with infectious complications showed higher abundances of <i>Neisseria</i> and lower abundances of <i>Streptococcus</i> than samples without infectious complications. <b>Conclusions:</b> Selective oral decontamination reduced the rate of postoperative complications, postoperative pneumonia in particular, after robot-assisted esophagectomy. Alterations in the microbiome were also evident following decontamination. Further studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to confirm these data.