Prospective Study of Laparotomy Wound Infections and Associated Risk Factors and Profile of Causative Microorganisms

Introduction Post operative surgical infections arouses big interest among surgeons and are considered unfortunate but inevitable. Despite the tremendous sophistication in surgical techniques and advances in microbial studies, postoperative infections continue to present major challenge in the day to day practice, It also causes discomfort to the patient, delay in resuming in work due to disability, decreases the quality of life index and increases the financial burden especially in a resource limited country like ours. This study briefly discusses the history and the relevant definition necessary for the discussion of surgical site wound infection, The known postulated risk factors and the profile of causative microorganism. METHODS 75 cases of laparotomies (elective and emergencies) carried out from 28/5/2005 and studied prospectively. Study is based on clinical observation of the patient. All the patients irrespective of age included in the study. For the convenience, laparotomy wound infections are graded as GRADE 0 No infection, GRADE 1 Surgical site erythema, GRADE 2 Subcutaneous collection, GRADE 3 Partial Burst, GRADE 4 Complete Burst. Result The incidence of post operative laparotomies was 26.66 %, The percentage of post operative wound infection increases with the Poor nutrition, Rising age, Anemia, Hypoproteinaemia, Contaminated peritoneum of abdomen, With poor chest compliance. The rate of post operative wound infection is directly proportional to the duration of surgery, hospital stay. Deranged Liver Function and Renal function leads to increase incidence of post operative wound infection. The rate of post operative wound infection is less in cases where the gastrointestinal tract was not open. The most common organism found in infected cases was Escheria Coli.