BACTERIOLOGICAL PROFILE AND ANTIBIOGRAM OF SURGICAL SITE INFECTION AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, AURANGABAD, MAHARASHTRA

Introduction: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are defined as infections that develop at the surgical site within 30 days of surgery (or within 90 days for some surgeries such as breast, cardiac and joint surgeries including implants). Surgical site infections (SSI) is one of the major healthcare-associated or nosocomial infection with a reported incidence rates of 4-17.8 % reported by various studies done in India and abroad. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was undertaken from October 2017 to September 2019 and samples from 116 cases of SSI, as per CDC criteria identified during study period were included. The bacteriological profile and antibiogram of isolates were analyzed along with associated risk factors for development of SSI. Results: Out of 108 bacterial isolates, 68.5% were Gram negative and 31.5% were Gram positive bacteria. The most commonly isolated organism was E. coli (30.5%), followed by Coagulase negative staphylococcus (13%), Staphylococcus aureus (12%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (10.2%), Acinetobacter species (10.2%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10.2%) as major isolates. Most of the isolated Gram-negative bacteria were sensitive to Amikacin and Imipenem. Most of the isolated Gram-positive bacteria were sensitive to Linezolid. While analyzing risk factors associated with SSI cases, it was found that 28.4% of these cases were anemic, 19.8% were obese, 17.2% had a history of nicotine use and diabetes was associated with 8.6% of the cases. Conclusion: The incidence of SSI is rising due to the emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria. Rapid diagnosis of these pathogens will reduce the morbidity and mortality rate of SSI. A well defined antibiogram will help in reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with the SSI cases.