Abstract |
Introduction: Abdominal Surgical Site Infections (ASSIs) are infections that occur commonly within 30 days after an operation and related to the operation in general surgery. Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the incidence and risk factors of ASSI: at Halibet National Referral Hospital (HNRH), Asmara, Eritrea. The study included all patients (140) who underwent abdominal surgery from September 4 to December 23, 2017. Results: The study results revealed an overall incidence of 5 percent; 71.4 percent as superficial and 28.6 percent as deep. ASSI was observed in patients with prostatectomy (42.8%), appendectomy (28.6%), cholecystectomy (14.3%) and colonic surgery (14.3%); being more prevalent in males (61.4%). Preoperative hospital stay was also observed to be longer (6.86 days) in patients with ASSI. The study results indicated a significant association with preoperative hospital stay (p – value = 0.026), type of surgery (p-value = 0.039) and duration of operation (p-value = 0.01). Out of the seven samples with ASSI, five (71.4%) were found with culture growth of S.aureus, E.coli and Klebsella spp. that were mainly resistant to ampicillin, cephalexin, ceftazidime but sensitive to chloramphenicol and nitofurantoin. Conclusion: ASSI at HNRH was found to be low as compared to other hospitals. Therefore, the study recommends decreased preoperative hospital stay and the use of sensitive antibiotics, in order to reduce the rate of infection to a lower level than the existing prevalence.
KEYWORDS:Abdominal Surgical Site Infections, Incidence, Risk Factors |