The rate of surgical site infection and associated factors in patients undergoing orthopedic surgeries in Babol, northern Iran

Background and purpose: The rate of surgical site infection (SSI), as one of the most common post-operative complications in the orthopedic surgeries, has not been assessed in Babol, northern Iran. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence rate of SSI and the associated factors in traumatic patients in this city. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 516 patients with hip and knee trauma and femoral fracture who underwent orthopedic sutgeries in Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Babol during a five-year period. SSI was defined as an infection occuerd within 30 days of surgery. The demographic and surgical information were collected and then analyzed. SSI was observed in 88 patients (17.1%). The mean age in the infected and non-infected patients was 43.11±19.08 and 39.22±9.54 years old, respectively (p=0.014). The duration of hospitalization was 17.59±6.23 days in the infected group and 13.08±5.77 days in the non-infected group (p<0.001). Duration of surgery in the infected and non-infected subjects was 2.42±1.62 and 2.11±1.23 hours (p=0.043). According to Chi-Square test, the patients underwent general anesthesia were infected more than those underwent spinal anesthesia (23% vs. 12.9%, p=0.003). Also, patients with diabetes had more infection rate (22.4%) than non-diabetic patients (14.3%) (p=0.021). The prevalence rate of SSI was considerable in this study. According to the results, age, durations of hospitalization and surgery, type of anesthesia (general), history of diabetes and smoking were determined as risk factors for SSI.