A Study on the Incidence of Surgical site Infections and related Pathogens in Obstetrics & Gynaecology in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Abstract

Background: Surgical site infection is one of the most common complications after any operative procedure. Aim: To determine the incidence of postoperative surgical site infection in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and also to identify the common causative organisms and their susceptibility to antimicrobials. Material & Methods: We have analysed data from all the postoperative patients suffering from Surgical Site Infection (SSI), from December 2018 to November 2019 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Sciences (ANIIMS). Result: Overall incidence of SSI was 9.17%. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common organism identified (38%), with a high incidence of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) (42.86%), followed by Pseudomonas (23.91%). Overall gram-negative bacteria were responsible for more than half of the cases. All the staphylococcal isolates including MRSA were susceptible to linezolid and regarding antibiotic susceptibility of gram-negative organisms, imipenem and piperacillin-tazobactam were most effective. Conclusion: There is emergence of drug-resistant strains of different bacteria such as Pseudomonas and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. Injudicious use of antibiotics is one of the reasons for this and, hence, there is need for a proper antibiotic protocol that should be formulated based on local trends and susceptibility of microorganisms.