Predictors of Surgical Site Infection in Contaminated Abdominal Surgical Wounds: Our Experience in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Secondary peritonitis is a common emergency surgical condition with varying aetiologies managed by surgeons all over the world. One important morbidity associated with it is postoperative surgical site infection (SSI). A better prevention strategy can be instituted if this complication in patients can be correctly predicted. The study aimed to identify factors in patients with peritonitis that have a significant bearing on the development of postoperative SSI. METHOD: A total of fifty patients operated on for peritonitis in a period of one year were studied. Factors including age, gender, comorbidities, presenting symptoms, time of presentation, time of intervention, intraoperative findings, duration of surgery, and postoperative SSI were noted. Chi-square, Fisher's exact test and Student's t-test were used to test for association where appropriate and a p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Peritonitis was most commonly due to a ruptured appendix (46%) followed by perforated peptic ulcer disease (42%). The incidence of SSI was 44%. For the patients that developed SSI, the lowest rate was observed in cases of ruptured appendix (39.1%) and the highest in perforated gastric ulcer (64.3%) which was closely followed by perforated duodenal ulcer (57.1%). The association between the time of presentation and the occurrence of SSI was statistically significant (p = 0.028). CONCLUSION: The SSI rate (44%) from peritonitis in our centre was quite high and the time of presentation played a crucial role. Prevention strategies focusing on predictors of SSI is necessary to reduce the rate of SSI in our setting.

CONTEXTE: La péritonite secondaire est une affection chirurgicale d'urgence fréquente avec diverses étiologies gérées par des chirurgiens du monde entier. Une morbidité importante associée à cela est l'infection postopératoire du site chirurgical (SSI). Une meilleure stratégie de prévention peut être mise en place si cette complication chez les patients peut être correctement prédite. L'étude visait à identifier les facteurs chez les patients atteints de péritonite qui ont une incidence significative sur le développement d'une SSI postopératoire. MÉTHODE: Au total, cinquante patients opérés pour une péritonite sur une période d'un an ont été étudiés. Des facteurs tels que l'âge, le sexe, les comorbidités, les symptômes de présentation, le moment de la présentation, le moment de l'intervention, les constatations peropératoires, la durée de la chirurgie et la SSI postopératoire ont été notés. Le test du chi carré, le test exact de Fisher et le test t de Student ont été utilisés pour tester les associations lorsque cela était approprié et une valeur de p < 0,05 était considérée comme statistiquement significative. RÉSULTATS: La péritonite était le plus souvent due à une appendicite rompue (46 %), suivie de près par une perforation de l'ulcère gastrique (42 %). L'incidence de la SSI était de 44 %. Pour les patients qui ont développé une SSI, le taux le plus bas a été observé dans les cas d'appendicite rompue (39,1%) et le plus élevé dans l'ulcère gastrique perforé (64,3 %), suivi de près par l'ulcère duodénal perforé (57,1 %). L'association entre le moment de la présentation et l'occurrence de la SSI était statistiquement significative (p = 0,028). CONCLUSION: Le taux de SSI (44 %) provenant de la péritonite dans notre centre était assez élevé et le moment de la présentation jouait un rôle crucial.Des stratégies de prévention axées sur les prédicteurs de la SSI sont nécessaires pour réduire le taux de SSI dans notre contexte. Mots-clés: Péritonite, Infection du site opératoire, Prédicteurs de la SSI, Moment de la présentation.

Blood transfusion, antibiotics use, and surgery outcome in thyroid surgery: experience from a suburban center in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Edo North, which is a known goiter belt in Nigeria, is within the catchment area of this hospital. Although thyroid disease is prevalent in the communities, the fear and cost of surgery have been limiting factors for sufferers who should otherwise seek expert care. AIM: To review all thyroid surgeries at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, to determine pathological diagnosis of goiters, and to evaluate the outcome and necessity or otherwise of antibiotic therapy and routine cross-matching of blood. RESULTS: There were 80 patients in the study, with 75 (93.75%) females and 5 (6.25%) males, giving female-to-male ratio of 15:1. People in the 4 th and 5 th decade of life constituted a dominant 32.5% and 26.7%, respectively, while the 1 st and 2 nd decades combined constituted only 7.5% of the study population. Two patients (2.5%) had blood transfusion while a similar number had wound infection. CONCLUSION: Thyroidectomy is a safe surgery with minimal risk of complications. Grouping and cross-matching of blood in elective thyroidectomy is not an essential pre-operative preparation for all patients just as antibiotic therapy/prophylaxis made no difference in patient outcome. Simple multinodular goiter is the commonest histological diagnosis.

Intra-abdominal gossypiboma: a report of two cases and a review of literature.

Post operative foreign body in the abdominal cavily, though rare continues to occur in surgical practice. Symptoms may start early with abdominal pain but usually have a varying course, ofter leading 10 the formation of gossypiboma. This is usually a great source of embarrassment to the surgeon and the centre, and of serious detrimental effect to the patient. A case report of a 27-year-old trader with intra-abdominal foreign body is presented to highlig at the similarity in presentation with abdominal lymphoma and the need to explore carefully masses in the abdominal cavity especially in patients who have had surgery in the past. A high index of suspicious is required on the part of the clinician in addition to appropriate radiological and sonologic assessment. Prompt diagnosis and treatment ameliorates the patients suffering and brings them back to life.