Epidemiology and risk factors for surgical site infections in patients requiring orthopedic surgery.

Abstract

Surgical site infection (SSI) is the most common complication following surgical procedures. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and associated risk factors of SSI in orthopedic patients admitted in a tertiary care center. Data were collected which focused on demographic details, lifestyle factors, diagnosis, surgical procedure, duration of surgery, prophylactic antibiotics, postoperative antibiotics and comorbidity obtained from the patients hospital records. Univariate analysis and multinomial logistic regression tests were performed to identify independent risk factors for orthopedic incisional SSIs. The overall rate of SSI was 2.1%. Univariate analysis showed diabetes, smoking and duration of hospital stay to be significantly associated with patients in whom SSI developed than in uninfected control patients. Independent risk factors for SSI that were identified by multinomial logistic regression were diabetes (OR 3.953) and smoking (OR 38.319). Diabetes and smoking were independent risk factors for SSIs. Therefore, it is recommended to tightly regulate blood glucose levels and stop smoking to reduce the SSIs.