SURGICAL SITE INFECTION

EVALUATION OF CAUSATIVE ORGANISMS INVOLVED

Abstract

Wound infection can be defined as invasion of organisms through tissues
following a breakdown of local and systemic host defenses. The basic principles of wound care
and antisepsis introduced during the past century improved surgery dramatically. Objective:
Evaluation of causative organisms which evolved in the surgical site infection (elective abdominal
surgery) at surgical unit of Liaquat university hospital Jamshoro. Subjects & Methods: This
prospective observational study was contains 103 patients undergoing elective, abdominal
surgery were included in this study. Surgical wound categories i.e. clean, clean contaminated,
were included. Prophylactic antibiotics were given in all cases. Primary closure of wounds was
employed in all cases. Follow up period was 30 days postoperatively. All cases were evaluated
for postoperative fever, redness and swelling of wound margins, collection and discharge of pus.
Cultures were taken from all the cases with any of the above findings. Results: The mean age
of the patient was 37 years with male to female ratio of 1:5:1. The overall rate of wound infection
was 13.04%. Most frequently involved pathogen was E.col 33.33% followed by Staph Aureus
20%, Klebsiella 20%, proteus 13.33%, Pseudomonas 6.66% and no organism was isolated in
6.66% cases. Most effective antibiotics were cephalosporins, quinolones and aminoglycosides’
whereas septran, erythromycin and tetracycline’s were ineffective. Conclusions: Surgical
wound infections are quite common. Time of postoperative hospital stay was twice longer in
infected case. Male sex, old age, anemia, longer duration of operation and wound class were
significant risk factors. Most common organims are found in this study E-Coli, Kllebcella and
Staph Aureus, these are mostly sensitive to cephalosporins, quinolones and aminoglycosides.