Superficial Incisional Surgical Site Infection In Elective Abdominal Surgeries - A Prospective Study.

Abstract

All postoperative surgical infections occurring in an operative site are termed surgical site infections. Superficial incisional surgical site infection occurs within 30 days after the operation and infection involves only skin or subcutaneous tissue of the incision and represents a substantial burden of disease for patients and health services. Aim of the study: To determine the incidence of surgical site infection in elective abdominal surgeries; to correlate the surgical site infection with the nature of elective surgical procedure; to study the profile of bacterial isolates obtained from cases of surgical site infection. Material and Methods: The present study was carried out in the Department of General Surgery and Department of Microbiology at the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun, India from November 2008 to October 2009. The patients who underwent elective abdominal surgery were included in the study group. These patients were followed up for superficial incisional surgical site infections until complete wound healing occurred or on their discharge from the hospital. Observation: The incidence of surgical site infection in elective surgeries was found to be 5%. E. coli was the most common organism isolated followed by Staphylococcus aureus. Risk factors like diabetes mellitus, smoking and duration of surgery play a significant role in causing surgical site infection. Conclusion: An effective surveillance programme for surgical site infections should be a critical component of any hospital infection control programme to reduce the rate of infection.