Evaluation of risk factors for surgical site infection following abdominal surgeries

Objective: surgical site infections (SSIs) are substantial cause of morbidity and mortality among the hospitalized patients. The present study was performed to analyze the incidence of SSIs and to evaluate the risk factors for SSI following abdominal surgeries at a tertiary healthcare centre. Material & Methods: The present study is a prospective study carried out in the Department of general surgery, Dungarpur Medical College & Hospital, Rajasthan during the period of 1 year from January 2018 to January 2019. A total of 100 elective and emergency cases of abdominal surgeries were included in the study. Results: 76 patients were male and 24 were female. Age of the patients ranges from 15 to 70 years with the mean age of 52.2 years. Out of 100 procedures, 38 were emergencies and 62 were elective procedures. 11 cases of SSIs were encountered during the study period. Exploratory laparotomy was the surgery most commonly associated with SSIs (4 cases), followed by bowel resection (3 cases) and cholecystectomy (2 cases). Conclusion: Post operative surgical site infections causes substantial increase in morbidity and mortality associated with the disease and also increase the healthcare cost. Meticulous surgical techniques, minimizing the duration of operation, proper sterilization, hygienic operation theatres and ward environments are few of the habits which can reduce the risk of SSIs.