The Presence of Pilonidal Sinus Infection Before Surgery Versus Other Factors as Predictors of Sinus Recurrence After Surgical Excision: A Retrospective Study.

Aims and objectives Pilonidal sinus is a frustrating condition because of its high recurrence rate. In our study, we aimed to find a correlation between the different variables during surgical management of pilonidal sinus with its recurrence within a three-year follow-up period. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the hospital's electronic data retrieving 100 patients who were admitted with sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus in three years and underwent surgical excision. Results Their mean age was 23.8 years, and 81 patients were males. They underwent four different surgical techniques, 26 of them had one or more signs of sinus infection, and we observed a 20% recurrence of the disease within the follow-up period. Bivariate analysis revealed no correlation between the recurrence of the sinus with either the type of surgery performed the preoperative antibiotics course, or the drain insertion after excision. There is a statistically significant relationship between any signs of infection prior to surgery and the recurrence regardless of the surgical technique (p = 0.001). Conclusion Signs of sinus infection before surgery are statistically significant predictors of the recurrence of the disease. On the other hand, there is no correlation between the type of surgical technique, the preoperative course of antibiotics, and the insertion of a drain after surgery with the recurrence.