SURGICAL SITE INFECTIONS PREVALENCE AFTER THE APPENDECTOMY OF COMPLICATED APPENDICITIS

Abstract

Introduction:  Acute appendicitis, one of the most prevalent intra-abdominal illnesses expecting surgical intervention, and surgical site infection is the more prominent post-operative complication, affecting (5-10%) of all appendectomy patients. The optimal timing and schedule for prophylactic antibiotics, considering the risk of developing microbial resistance, has yet to be established. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of surgical site infections following surgical intervention in complicated cases of appendicitis.

Material & Methods: Descriptive study was conducted at Department of Surgery, Mardan Medical Complex, Mardan from June 2021 to January 2022. The study design was cross-sectional in which sample size was 292 patients, 5 percent of Surgical Site Infection having 2.5 proportion of error under WHO database software. For sample collection, a non-probability consecutive sampling technique was adopted.

Results: Per-operative observations in our analysis included adhesions, perforation, and peritonitis, whereas post-operative complications included port-site infection, bowel obstruction, and ileus. Most of the patients recovered within a week. The mean age was 30±7.1 years with (56%) patients were males and (44%) were females. Four percent of patients had perforated appendix while 13% patients had gangrenous appendix. Eight percent of patients had surgical site infection.

Conclusion: We determined that the Laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) procedure should be performed first choice, not only for the cosmetic reasons of deriving a tiny scar, but also for the increased chances of discovering additional pathologies (tumors, ovarian cysts, Meckel's diverticulum, etc.). The patient's early mobility and shorter post-operative hospital stay may also make it a better choice than routine appendectomies.