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Abstract
A prospective study of incisional surgical site infection in abdominal surgeries was conducted to find out incidence, common predisposing factors and microbiological profile. 375 patients who underwent abdominal surgeries were studied in a span of 1 year. They were divided into two groups – group 1 – 316 cases who did not develop Surgical Site Infection (SSI), the 2nd group – 59 cases that developed SSI. These patients were studied by interviewing and examination according to a set proforma. The results were statistically analyzed by comparing averages using Chi square chart for finding significance of difference where applicable. The overall SSI incidence was 15.7 % (59/375). In elective surgeries, the SSI rate was 5.7% and in emergency surgeries, it was 28.6%. It was found that SSI increased with increasing age linearly. Other significant factors involved were increasing class of wound (dirty > clean wound class), increased preoperative stay, presence of remote site infection, increased duration of surgery and use of drains. E. coli was found to be the most common organism causing SSI in abdominal operations. SSI can be reduced by decreasing the preoperative hospital stay, appropriate antibiotic administration policies, preoperative control of remote site infections, adequate preoperative patient preparation, reducing the duration of surgery to minimum, judicious use of drains and intraoperative maintenance of asepsis and following operation theatre discipline properly.