Abstract:
Surgical site infection is a superficial or deep infection that occurs in part of the body including skin and subcutaneous tissue or deep organ within 30 days after operation for procedure without prosthetic material use. Surgical site infections are commonest nosocomial infections and responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality as well as increased hospitalizations and treatment cost related to surgical operations. In Ethiopia, the magnitude and associated factors are not well documented and differ among different regions.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the magnitude and associated factors of surgical site infections in surgical ward at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Harar, Ethiopia from June 1 to December 30, 2020.
Method: An institution based cross sectional study was conducted and 213 patients who admitted and undergo surgery in surgical ward from June 1 to November 30, 2020 were included. Data were collected using pre-tested, structured questionnaire and post discharge follow up was done at surgical referral clinic and on phone call. Data were entered and cleared on Epidata 3.1 version then exported and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 20. Logistic regression model was used to determine the strength of association among independent and outcome variable. At 95% confidence interval, p-valve < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Result: The prevalence of surgical site infection was 21.6, 95%CI [20.9, 22.3]. The likelihood of SSI was increased among male (AOR=4.72; 95%CI: 1.435-15.501), operation on contaminated type of wound (AOR=22.19; 95%CI: 7.11-71.35) or operation on dirty types of wound (AOR=3.03; 95%CI; 1.47-5.45). On the other hand, the SSI was decreased among married (AOR=0.472: 95%CI: 0.293-0.984).
Conclusion: Prevalence of surgical site infection was relatively high. Being male sex, being married in marital status and contaminated or dirty surgical incision site were independent predictors of surgical site infection. Longitudinal study is needed to better understand the predictor of surgical site infection
