# Factors Associated With Surgical Site Infection Among Patients Undergone Abdominal Surgery in Northwestern Ethiopia: A Retrospective Cross‐Sectional Study

## TL;DR

This study found that 26.8% of patients who had abdominal surgery in Ethiopia developed surgical site infections, with medical conditions and longer hospital stays increasing the risk.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific risk factors for surgical site infections in a hospital in Northwestern Ethiopia using a retrospective cross-sectional design.

## Key findings

- The prevalence of surgical site infections was 26.8% among patients who underwent abdominal surgery.
- Patients with concurrent medical conditions were over three times more likely to develop surgical site infections.
- Longer hospital stays were associated with a higher likelihood of surgical site infections.

## Abstract

Among the myriad surgical procedures, abdominal surgeries stand out for their increased susceptibility to surgical site infections, owing to the intricate nature of the abdominal cavity. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with surgical site infections among patients who underwent abdominal operations at Bichena Hospital.

A retrospective cross‐sectional study conducted at a hospital involved 164 patients who underwent abdominal operations in the last 2 years. The prevalence of surgical site infection was estimated. Binary Logistic regression analysis was conducted and a significance level of p‐value ≤ 0.05 was adopted to identify statistically significant factors influencing surgical site infection following open abdominal surgery.

The occurrence of surgical site infection was determined to be 26.8% (95% CI: 20.1%, 33.5%). Patients with concurrent medical conditions were over three times more likely (AOR = 3.37) to develop SSI compared to those without such conditions. Regarding hospital length of stay, patients with shorter stays had a significantly lower likelihood of developing SSI. Specifically, those with stays of 5–7 days had a 91% lower likelihood of SSI (AOR = 0.09), those with 8–14 days had a 78% lower likelihood (AOR = 0.22), and those with stays of 15–21 days had a 72.4% lower likelihood (AOR = 0.28), compared to patients with a hospital stay of 22 days or longer. The 22‐day cutoff was determined based on the distribution of hospital stays within the study population, where longer stays beyond this period were associated with a higher incidence of infections.

The study found a high incidence of SSIs at the institution. The presence of concurrent medical conditions and extended hospital stays was identified as a significant factor contributing to the occurrence of SSIs.