International Surgery Journal | August 2021 | Vol 8 | Issue 8 Page 2311 International Surgery Journal Tolpadi AG et al. Int Surg J. 2021 Aug;8(8):2311-2317 http://www.ijsurgery.com pISSN 2349-3305 | eISSN 2349-2902 Original Research Article Surgical site infections in clean and clean contaminated surgeries in a tertiary care teaching hospital Anuradha G. Tolpadi 1 , Abhijeet K. Mane 1 *, Snehal V. Dhayagude 1 , Meera S. Modak 1 , Dhananjay M. Dongare 2 , Akshata S. Tendulkar 2 , Prerana U. Mahadik 2 , Pallavi Lamkhade 2 INTRODUCTION Health care-associated infections (HAI) are a major public health problem. Even after infection control interventions it still remains a major threat to patient safety. 1,2 Surgical site infections (SSI) are one of the most common HAIs. 3 Incidence varies worldwide. It is estimated that SSI occurs in at least 2% of surgeries. 4 SSI incidence is higher in developing countries. 1 In India the risk of acquiring SSI ranges from 4%-30%. 5 In India surveillance data is still scanty and prevention of HAI is not always priortized. 1,6 SSI and its adverse effects on patients and healthcare system can be prevented by evidence based surveillance system. This will ensure patient safety and reduce the additional financial burden. Ultimately it will assist in improving quality of health care. 4 ABSTRACT Background: Despite major advances in infection control interventions, health care-associated infections (HAI) remain a major public health problem and patient safety threat worldwide. Surgical site infections (SSI) are among the most commonly reported Hospital acquired infections (HAI). Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted in a tertiary care hospital over a period of one year from May 2019 to April 2020. Total 2382 patients who underwent clean and clean contaminated surgeries were included in the study. The data on demographics, type of surgery, duration of surgery, day of SSI event, use of prosthesis, comorbidities, post-operative stay and resuturing was collected and analyzed. From suspected patients of SSI, pus aspirate/swab was sent for culture and susceptibility. Results: Total 2382 clean and clean contaminated surgeries were included in the study. The incidence of SSI was 2.05%. Association between SSI and gender, age group and whether the surgeries were planned or were emergency surgeries was noted. In 37 (75.51%) patients who developed SSI the post-operative stay was prolonged (>7days). 3 (6.1%) patients had to undergo resuturing due to gaping in the surgical wound. 18(36.73%) cases of SSI were diagnosed after discharge from hospital. The predominant organism causing SSI was Escherichia coli followed by Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulase negative Staphylococcus (CONS). Conclusions: Regular surveillance of SSI with feedback of appropriate data to the stakeholders is desirable to reduce SSI rate. Post patient discharge, surveillance of SSI is challenging but it needs to be addressed by infection control team to identify cases of SSI accurately. Keywords: Surveillance, Surgical antibiotic prophylaxis, Surgery, Comorbidities 1 Department of Microbiology, Bharati Vidyapeeth (DTU) Medical College and Hospital, Pune, Maharashtra, India 2 Infection Control Department, Bharati Hospital and Research Centre, Pune, Maharashtra, India Received: 25 May 2021 Accepted: 01 July 2021 *Correspondence: Dr. Abhijeet K. Mane, E-mail: drakmane@yahoo.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2349-2902.isj20212793