Surgical site infection following hernia repair in the day care setting of a developing country: a retrospective review

Objective: To determine the incidence proportion of surgical site infection following hernia repair in a daycare setting at a tertiary care hospital of a low-income country. Methods: The retrospective audit was done at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from June 1, 2008 to May 30, 2009. Patients with age 15 years who underwent Lichenstein s open mesh repair in daycare were included. Surgical Site Infection was labelled if the records revealed any of the following: opening of the wound by the primary surgeon; pain, tenderness and raised temperature of skin; purulent discharge from the wound; if the surgeon had documented it as a surgical site infection. SPSS 16 was used for data analysis. Results: After reviewing the retrieved files, 104 patients were found eligible. Of them, 102 (98%) were males. Overall wound-related complications were found in 13 (12.5%), whereas surgical site infection was found in 8 (7.7%) patients. The mean age of those with infections was 38.7±18 year, while that of those with no surgical site infection was 47.8±18 years. Smoking was found significantly associated with surgical site infection with 5.8 times higher incidence as compared to the non-smokers [OR with 95% CI: 5.6 (1.2, 25.3)]. Conclusions: The incidence of surgical site infection after hernia repair with mesh in a daycare setting at a tertiary care hospital of a low-income country was higher than internationally reported incidence. Smoking was found to be a significant risk factor.