Surgical site infection rate and associated risk factors in elective general surgery at a public sector medical university in Pakistan

Abstract

This prospective study aimed to determine the surgical site infection (SSI) rate and associated risk factors was carried in a general surgical ward at Liaquat University Hospital Jamshoro. A total of 460 patients requiring elective general surgery from July 2005 to June 2006 were included in this study. All four surgical wound categories were included. Primary closure was employed in all cases. Patients were followed up to 30th day postoperatively. All cases were evaluated for postoperative fever, redness, swelling of wound margins and collection of pus. Cultures were taken from all the cases with any of the above finding. Mean +/- SD age of the patients was 38.8 +/- 17.4 years with male to female ratio of 1.5:1. The overall rate of surgical site infection was 13.0%. The rate of wound infection was 5.3% in clean operations, 12.4% in clean-contaminated, 36.3% in contaminated and 40% in dirt-infected cases. Age, use of surgical drain, duration of operation and wound class were significant risk factors for increased surgical site infection (P < 0.05). Postoperative hospital stay was double in cases who had surgical site infection. Sex, haemoglobin level and diabetes were not statistically significant risk factors (P > 0.05). In conclusion, surgical site infection causes considerable morbidity and economic burden. The routine reporting of SSI rates stratified by potential risk factors associated with increased risk of infection is highly recommended.

Use of face masks by non‐scrubbed operating room staff: a randomized controlled trial

“…Risk factors for surgical site infection in the current study were similar to those found elsewhere 10,11 . The one exception was the operation classification of caesarean section, where the range of SSI rates generally falls between 1.6 and 7.4% 12,13 .…”

Prevalence of bacterial contamination in general operating theaters in selected hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

“…SSIs are responsible for the increasing costs, morbidity and mortality associated with surgical operations and continue to be a major problem, even in hospitals with the most modern facilities and standard protocols for pre-operative preparation and the administration of antibiotic prophylaxis [21]. The reported rates of SSIs prevalence are as low as 2.5% and as high as 41.9% [22,23]. The high percentage of positive samples obtained in our study can be attributed to the following factors.…”

A Multi-Disciplinary Review of the Potential Association between Closed-Suction Drains and Surgical Site Infection

“…Sangrasi et al [44] performed a prospective study of 460 patients undergoing general surgical procedures at a university-affiliated hospital in Pakistan to quantify the incidence of and identify risk factors for SSI. The overall SSI rate was 13.0%.…”