Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 2019, 7, 19-27 https://www.scirp.org/journal/jbm ISSN Online: 2327-509X ISSN Print: 2327-5081 DOI: 10.4236/jbm.2019.79003 Aug. 30, 2019 19 Journal of Biosciences and Medicines The Bacteriological Profile of Surgical Site Infections in Orthopaedic Implant Surgeries in South-East Nigeria Kelechukwu A. Okoro 1 , Osita Ede 1 , Emmanuel C. Iyidobi 1 , Ugochukwu U. Enweani 2 , Cajetan U. Nwadinigwe 1 , Gabriel O. Eyichukwu 1 , Udo E. Anyaehie 1 , Francis N. Ahaotu 1 , Richard C. Ezeh 1 1 Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria 2 City Clinics, Enugu, Nigeria Abstract Background: Knowledge of the common bacteria that cause surgical site in- fection (SSI) and their antibiotic sensitivity is mandatory if treatment of sur- gical infection is to be successful. The threat of the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria is ever-present. Hence, a sensitivity directed therapy is pa- ramount for the successful eradication of organisms with minimal risk of de- velopment of antibiotic resistance. Aim: The aim is to identify the common bacteria that cause SSI in orthopaedic implant surgeries in our hospital. Me- thod: This is a prospective longitudinal study that includes all orthopaedic surgeries involving the use of implants within one year. Patients that had major orthopaedic surgeries involving implant were followed up and their wounds inspected for signs of SSI on postoperative days 3, 7, 14, 42 and 90. Wound swab was taken for microscopy, culture and sensitivity analysis from those who had wound infection, based on the CDC guidelines. Results: One-hundred and sixteen patients met our inclusion criteria and were in- cluded in the analysis. There were 62 males and 54 females. The mean age of the participant was 39.62 years (SD = 15.02 years). Fracture fixation with plates and screws was the most common implant surgery done. The incidence of SSI was 2.6%, and Escherichia coli was the most common isolated patho- gen. All the SSIs were superficial incisional type, and the infection was mo- nomicrobial in 67% of cases and polymicrobial in 33%. All of the isolated pa- thogens were sensitive to Imipenem and Gentamycin. Conclusion: Superfi- cial incisional SSI is the most common type of SSI in this study. Escherichia coli is the most frequent pathogen in SSI affecting implant surgeries in our hospital. Gentamycin and Imipenem should be used for the prophylaxis of SSI in our environment. How to cite this paper: Okoro, K.A., Ede, O., Iyidobi, E.C., Enweani, U.U., Nwadinigwe, C.U., Eyichukwu, G.O., Anyaehie, U.E., Ahaotu, F.N. and Ezeh, R.C. (2019) The Bacteriological Profile of Surgical Site Infec- tions in Orthopaedic Implant Surgeries in South-East Nigeria. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 7, 19-27. https://doi.org/10.4236/jbm.2019.79003 Received: August 5, 2019 Accepted: August 27, 2019 Published: August 30, 2019 Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access