Postoperative abdominal wound infection – epidemiology, risk factors, identification, and management

Abstract

Saïd C Azoury,1 Norma Elizabeth Farrow,2 Qing L Hu,2 Kevin C Soares,1 Caitlin W Hicks,1 Faris Azar,1 Nelson Rodriguez-Unda,3 Katherine E Poruk,1 Peter Cornell,1 Karen K Burce,1 Carisa M Cooney,3 Hien T Nguyen,1 Frederic E Eckhauser1 1Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA; 2School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; 3Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA Abstract: Surgical site infections (SSIs) complicate the postoperative course of a significant proportion of general abdominal surgical patients and are associated with excessive health care costs. SSIs increase postoperative morbidity and mortality, and may require hospital admission, intravenous antibiotics, and even surgical reintervention. Risks associated with SSIs are related to both host and perioperative factors. However, a vast majority of these infections are preventable. More recently, quality initiative programs such as American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program are expanding their roles to help better monitor adherence to improvement measures. Indeed, standardizing preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis timing is perhaps the most persuasive example and this has been integral to reducing postoperative SSI rates. Herein, the authors provide an update on the epidemiology, risk factors, identification, and management of wound infections following abdominal surgery. Keywords: surgical site infection, diagnosis, treatment, prevention

Keywords

• Wound
• Infection
• Risk Factors
• Identification
• surgical site infection