Incidence, root causes, and outcomes of surgical site infections in a tertiary care hospital in Rwanda: a prospective observational cohort study

BACKGROUND: Surgical Site Infections (SSI) are the most reported health acquired infection and common surgical complication in both developed and developing countries. In developing countries such as Rwanda, there is a paucity of published reports on the pattern of SSI, therefore this study aimed at assessing the incidence, risk factors and the antibiotic profile of pathogens responsible of SSI. METHODS: This prospective study included 294 patients admitted between October 10, 2017 and February 12, 2018 to the surgical department of the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali. Patients data were collected using a structured and pretested questionnaire in English version. Regular follow-up was maintained until at least 30 days postoperatively. Samples were collected from suspected wounds and identified using different bacteria culture media. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software word version 20.0. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The overall incidence of SSI was 10.9%. The associated risk factors were found to be an increased age, ASA class, wound classification, skills and experience of the surgeon, longer duration of surgery (> 2 h), prolonged duration of hospital stay, blood transfusion and emergency surgery. The most common pathogens isolated were Klebsiella ssp (55%), followed by Escherichia coli (15%) and Proteus ssp (12%), Acinectobacter (9%), Staphylococcus aureus (6%) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (3%).The pathogens revealed different levels of antibiotic resistance; amoxy-clavilinic acid (98.8%), gentamicin (92.6%), ciprofloxacin (78.1%) and ceftriaxone (53.3%). On the other hand, Amikacin and imipinem were the only two most effective antibiotics for all isolated pathogens with 100% sensitivity. CONCLUSION: SSI incidence rate was revealed to be within acceptable international ranges. However, multi drug resistance was seen in half of the isolates leaving clinicians with few choices of drugs for the treatment of patients with SSI. Periodic surveillance of bacteria and antibiotic susceptibility coupled with the implementation of strict protocol for antibiotic administration and operative room regulations are important to minimize the burden of SSI with resistant bacteria pathogens.