A study of organisms causing surgical site infections and their antimicrobial susceptibility in a tertiary care government hospital.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common postoperative complication and causes significant postoperative morbidity and mortality. PATIENTS A prospective study was carried out in a total of 100 patients operated for clean and clean-contaminated surgeries from department of orthopedics, surgery and obstetrics & gynecology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Relevant details were noted in clinical history. Each patient was followed from the time of admission till discharge from the hospital and also for 30 days postoperatively (CDC, 1999). The identification of the infecting organism was done by staining, and culture and antibiotic susceptibility by Disc Diffusion method. RESULTS: Out of 100 patients, 32 patients got infected post-operatively. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common organism isolated. None of the strains were Methicillin resistant. Drug resistance was widespread, especially in Enterobacteriaceae, where the Cefotaxime resistant strains of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were ESBL producing. Another concern in recent times is the isolation of Acinetobacter from surgical wounds. Various patient factors and hospital protocol were analyzed with regard to the treatment outcome. Judicious use of antibiotics along with evidence-based medicine is the need of the hour to stop the rise of these superbugs.