Assessment of the surgical site infection in colon surgery and antibiotic prophylaxis adequacy: a multi-center incidence study

Abstract

Introduction: Surgically site infections (SSIs) are a major problem that limits the benefits of surgical interventions. The cumulative incidence of SSIs in colon surgery and compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis as well as the causes of non-compliance were evaluated.

Methods: Multi-centre prospective surveillance study between 2012 and 2019 in seven hospitals of the Canary Health Service using an active epidemiological surveillance system. SSIs was defined according to the criteria of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Results: In 2019, the cumulative incidence of SSIs was 10.6% (n = 80), which implies maintaining the downward trend since 2012. The appearance of SSIs was more frequent during admission (76%). Surgical prophylaxis was adequate in 81.2%, the main causes of inadequacy being the excessive duration of the antimicrobial prescription (49%) and failure in the indication (33%). The incidence was higher in the group of organ-space infections (53.75% of the total) compared to superficial and deep infections.

Conclution: The cumulative incidence of SSIs obtained is similar to that calculated in other studies carried out under similar conditions. Preoperative chemoprophylaxis was adequate in most of the interventions.

Keywords: Antibiotic prophylaxis; Cirugía de colon; Colon surgery; Incidence; Incidencia; Infección de la herida quirúrgica; Profilaxis antibiótica; Sistema de vigilancia; Surgical site infection; Surveillance system.