Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is an important clinical indicator of quality of patient care and infection control; therefore, we aimed to assess risk factors SSI in colon and gastric surgeries.
Methods: SSI was assessed according to the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance (NNIS) system (1999). Risk factors examined included operative approach, operative procedure, duration of operation, diabetes mellitus (DM), body mass index (BMI), age, and sex.
Results: Among 3152 operated patients, 1675 patients were included in the study. The univariate analysis showed that male sex, high BMI, and long duration of operation were significant risk factors for colon surgery and that advanced age, presence of DM and long duration of operation were significant risk factors for gastric surgery. The multivariate analysis indicated that significant risk factors for SSI were BMI of 25 or above, open surgery, and long duration of operation for colon surgery and open surgery for gastric surgery. The SSI rate of laparoscopic colon surgery was 40%, less than that of open colon surgery, and that of laparoscopic gastric surgery was 75%, less than that of open gastric surgery.
Conclusion: The risk factors for SSI depend on whether the operation is laparoscopic or open and duration of operation. In addition, BMI (25 or above) and age (70 years or above) are risk factors for colon and gastric surgery, respectively.