Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

    Background and Aim: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common complications in patients undergoing surgery, increasing the mortality and morbidity rates in surgical wards. This prospective study aimed to determine the incidence and the main risk factors of SSI after neurosurgical procedures in patients on antibiotic prophylaxis in a teaching hospital at

Tehran, Iran.

Patients and Methods: In this prospective study 543 consecutive patients undergoing neurosurgery were enrolled. All patients were followed for a minimum of 2 weeks postoperatively and all SSIs were recorded. The complete medical records of each case were extracted. Statistical analyses were performed to identify the risk factors for SSIs by odds ratio and Chi-Square test. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS V. 13.

Results: A total of 41 patients suffered from postoperative SSIs among 543 cases included in the study, with a resulting overall infection rate of 7.6%. The risk of SSI was increased by operation type such as "shunt operations", presence of foreign body, presence of diabetes mellitus, CSF leakage, frequent LP, operation time of more than 3 hr and admission in ICU.

Conclusion: SSIs remain an important problem in neurosurgery. Identification of the risk factors for SSI will help physicians to improve patient care and may decrease mortality, morbidity, and health care costs of neurosurgery patients.