Prevalence and risk factors of post-cholecystectomy surgical site infections

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to measure the prevalence of post-cholecystectomy surgical site infection and identify the associated risk factors and their association with its prevalence. METHOD: A cross-sectional analytical study including all patients who underwent cholecystectomy in the period from January 2021 to March 2022. The data sheet was filled with records of the patients, and some questions were asked of the patients directly. Many risk factors were assessed and measured in their association with the development of postoperative SSI. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-two patients with a mean age of 46.41±13.37 participated in the study. Thirty-five (20.3%) of them were males, and 137 (79.7%) were females. Open cholecystectomy 121 (70.3%) was done more than laparoscopic cholecystectomy 51 (29.7%). The most common indication for cholecystectomy was found to be both cholecystitis and cholelithiasis (53.5%). Out of 172 patients, postoperative wound infection [surgical site infection (SSI)] developed in 29 (16.9%) patients. Of these, 8 (27.6%) were males, while 21 (72.4%) were females, with a mean age of 46.38 (SD=14.12) years. Prophylactic antibiotics intraoperatively and therapeutic antibiotics postoperatively were found to decrease the risk of developing SSI [P=0.005, odds ratio (OR)=0.073] (P=0.012, OR=0.153), respectively. However, hospital stay after surgery (<1 week) was also found to decrease the risk (P=0.001, OR=0.179). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of post-cholecystectomy SSI is high despite a small sample size in comparison with other studies. Prophylactic antibiotics and short hospital stays have an important role in decreasing the risk of developing postoperative SSI.