Postoperative sårinfeksjoner, en observasjonsstudie ved St. Olavs Hospital, Røros Sykehus

Abstract

Background Health care associated infections are a major health problem in hospitals. Little is known about the actual rate of surgical site infections after ambulatory orthopedic surgery at St. Olavs Hospital, Department Røros. Purpose The primary purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of surgical site infections after ambulatory orthopedic surgery at St. Olavs Hospital, Department Røros. It was a secondary objective to investigate if the occurrence of such infections could be associated with various risk factors. Material and methods This is an observational case series study that included 600 consecutive patients who came to elective orthopedic ambulatory surgical treatment at Røros hospital. All patients were telephoned 30 days after the surgical procedure to be asked if they had developed a surgical site infection. Clinical information was obtained at time of surgery, and later when necessary. Results Information about infection status was obtained from 587 patients. Altogether 20 patients (3,4%) had developed a surgical site infection, 10 superficial and 10 deep. Patients with infections had significantly higher BMI than those without infection. Conclusions Our finding of an infection rate of 3.4% is regarded to be representative of the real infection situation at Røros hospital. The observed rate of infection is difficult to compare with other studies due to differences in case mix and differences in registration practices. Relevance The results of this study can be used as a benchmark in relation to other comparable studies, but can also be used as basic information in relation to the improvement efforts to further reduce surgical site infections at Røros hospital.