Infection Prevention and Evaluation of Fever After Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication of hysterectomy. Minimally invasive hysterectomy has lower infection rates than abdominal hysterectomy. The lower SSI rates reflect the role and benefit in infection control of having minimal incisions, rather than a large anterior abdominal wall incision. Despite the lower rates, SSI after laparoscopic hysterectomy is not uncommon. In this article, we review pre-, intra-, and postoperative risk factors for infection. Rates of postoperative fever after laparoscopic hysterectomy and when evaluation for infection is warranted in a febrile patient are also reviewed. DATABASE: PubMed was searched for English-only articles using National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MESH) terms and keywords including but not limited to “postoperative,” “surgical site,” “infection,” “fever,” “laparoscopic,” “laparoscopy,” and “hysterectomy.” CONCLUSIONS: Reducing hospital-acquired infections such as SSI is one of the more effective ways of improving patient safety. Knowledge and understanding of risk factors for infection following laparoscopic hysterectomy enable the gynecologic surgeon or hospital to implement targeted preventive measures.