Retrospective study of superficial and deep surgical site infections due to gram negative organisms in tertiary health care centre in shillong

Objectives: Objective of this study is to know the prevalence of surgical site infection among the postoperative patients in various surgical departments of tertiary healthcare centre and to identify the relationship between SSI and etiological pathogens along with their antimicrobial susceptibility.
Methods: A retrospective case study conducted among patients admitted to the surgical departments during the period between January 1st and December 31st 2016. Swabs and aspirates from the surgical sites were collected under sterile conditions and standard bacteriological tests were performed for identification and appropriate statistical methods were employed to look for association between SSI and etiological pathogens.
Results: Out of the 1284 samples included in the study, 192 samples showed evidence of SSI yielding an infection rate of 14.9%. The most commonly isolated bacteria were: Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baumanii of the gram negative isolates 6.2% were multidrug resistant of which 19% were carbapenem resistant.
Conclusion: SSI with multiple drug resistance strains and polymicrobial etiology reflects therapeutic failure. The outcome of the SSI surveillance in our hospital revealed that in order to decrease the incidence of SSI we would have to: a) incorporate a proper antibiotic stewardship b) conduct periodic surveillance to keep a check on SSI d) educate medical staffs regarding the prevention of surgical site infection.