Clinical and bacteriological profile of abdominal surgical site infections in an Indian Hospital

Abstract

This study was carried out to assess the clinical and bacterial profiles of abdominal surgery site infections in a tertiary care hospital. Samples recovered from infected wounds at abdominal surgery sites were processed using highly advanced microbiological procedures. To process these samples, the most recently accepted standard CLSI guidelines were used. Antimicrobial vulnerability was investigated using a modified Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method.97 samples were collected from 83 patients who had proven evidence of infections at abdominal surgery sites. It was found that 97.5% of the total samples had evidence of significant growth of bacteria and bacterial isolates obtained were 88 in number. Staphylococcus aureus was the most often isolated bacterium, accounting for 51.52% of total samples. The second most prevalent germ isolated was Escherichia coli, which accounted for 24.13% of total samples. It was concluded that the high prevalence of infections at the surgical sites of abdomen in our study highlights the importance of providing high-quality surgical care that considers the features of the host, environment, and microorganisms before performing any surgery.