Surgical Site Infections in General Surgical Wards at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Surgical site infections are important cause of morbidity and mortality in admitted patients world over. Objectives: To determine the pattern of surgical site infections in General Surgical ward of a tertiary care hospital. Study type, settings and duration: Analytical cross-sectional study conducted at Department of General Surgery, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad for two years from January 2010 to December 2011. Subjects and Methods: All cases were admitted in surgical ward with various surgical problems either as elective or emergency cases who developed wound infection later were included in the study. Cases of wound infection operated elsewhere, diabetic foot, and abscesses were excluded. Data collected included age, gender, primary diagnosis, mode of admission, comorbid factors, type and duration of surgery, expertise of the surgeon, use of antibiotics and hospital stay. After operation, wound was examined for evidence of infection from third post-op day onward. Any discharge was submitted for bacteriological examination. The wounds were followed till healed. Results: A total of 1913 patients underwent surgery, including 983 cases (51.5 %) operated as elective and 932(48.5 %) as emergency. Postoperative wound infections occurred in 165 cases giving an overall incidence of infection in 8.6% cases. Infection rate in elective cases was lower (4.6%) than that in the emergency (12.7%) cases. Sixty one patients (37%) developed minor infection or stitch abscess, 104(63%) has frank suppuration requiring opening and drainage of wound; while 5(3%) cases developed deep seated infection of intra-abdominal spaces. E. coli was the commonest bacteria for wound infection (39%). Conclusion: Post operative wound infection rate was 8.6%. The infection was significantly higher in cases who underwent emergency surgery and E. coli was the commonest pathogen to cause infection.