An Evaluation of the Effect of the Use of N95 Respirators by Surgical Teams on Early Surgical Site Infections in Orthopedic Cases

Background Surgical site infections (SSIs) are seen in the postoperative period in orthopedic and traumatology clinics. Just as in all surgical clinics, SSIs lead to patient dissatisfaction with the results, prolong the length of stay in the hospital, and increase treatment costs. SSIs are known to occur as a result of wound contamination through inoculation of microorganisms found mainly in the air or in the surgical area. Because of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, N95 masks have been widely used in the operating rooms of our hospital by nurses, residents, and surgeons since March 2020. This study aims to evaluate the effect of N95 respirator use by the surgical team on SSIs determined in patients operated on in our clinic compared to surgical mask use. Methodology In this retrospective study, the use of N95 respirators by the surgical team was compared with the use of surgical masks to evaluate the effect on SSIs in patients operated on in our clinic. Two groups were formed of patients operated on by the surgical team wearing surgical masks between February 2019 and February 2020 and those operated on with the surgical team using N95 respirators between March 2020 and March 2021. Each patient was diagnosed with postoperative SSIs by two different surgeons in the same clinic and by an infection clinic specialist based on clinical and laboratory findings. Results A total of 1,486 patients were examined; 729 patients in February 2019-February 2020 period (Group 1) and 757 in March 2020-March 2021 period (Group 2). In total, 124 and 104 patients were excluded from the first and second groups, respectively, for various reasons, including revision surgery, open fractures, diabetes, smoking, peripheral vascular disease, or other comorbidities that could affect infection rates. SSIs were determined in 35 patients in Group 1 and 13 patients in Group 2. The SSI rates in the second period in both types of procedures (arthroplasty and trauma surgeries) were determined to be significantly lower. Conclusions Because of the use of intraoperative N95 respiratory masks by surgical teams in orthopedics and traumatology procedures, the number of SSIs decreased significantly compared to the use of surgical masks.