A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF SURGICAL SITE INFECTIONS IN ABDOMINAL SURGERIES OF ADULTS.

Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are infections that develop in the incision, organ, or space following surgery(1). In 1992, the term surgical site infection' (SSI) replaced surgical wound infection'(2). Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common consequence from surgery and trauma. According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) Clean Care is Safer Care program, up to one-third of surgical patients experience surgical site infections (SSI). Surgical site infections (SSIs) increase postoperative hospital stays by 7-10 days and increase the risk of death by 2-11 times compared to non-SSI surgical patients. {3,4}Surgical site infection is a post-surgery infection in the affected area of the body Surgical site infection is also dened as occurring within 30 days of the operation. The CDC's NNIS system has established standardised surveillance criteria to identify SSIs. These parameters categorise SSIs as either incisional or organ/space. Incisional SSIs are classied as supercial (including only skin and subcutaneous tissue) or deep (involving deeper soft tissues within the incision). Organ/space SSIs refer to any portion of the body that was opened or altered during surgery, excluding incised body wall layers. Wound Healing: Cutaneous wound healing involves epithelial renewal and the creation of connective tissue scar. Skin wounds heal by either rst or second intention, depending on their size and character. Wound healing phases include the 1. Inammatory 2. Proliferative phases. 3. Remodelling phase (maturation phase). Factors affecting wound infection include host response, virulence and inoculum of the infective agent, vascularity and health of the invaded tissue (including local ischaemia and systemic shock), presence of dead or foreign tissue, and antibiotic use during the 'decisive period'. Dose of bacterial contamination *pathogenicity =risk of surgical site infection. Resistance of the host patient. A surgical site infected with more than 105 germs per gramme of tissue signicantly increases the risk of SSI. Methods: The Prospective study was conducted between March 2023 and February 2025 and comprised 24 cases, regardless of age group(adults), of both males and females who had been operated for elective & emergency abdominal surgeries in a surgical ward. Appropriate surgical management was carried out under strict aseptic precautions. Immediate Post operative period of the patients was followed up. Wound was examined on day 2, then every day till the day of discharge. Used to gather the following information: Discharge form suture site suggesting supercial SSI Wound Gaping Swab used to collect Pus for culture & sensitivity pattern Results: This study included 20 patients: 6(30%) females and 14 (70%) males, with a mean age of 50 years (range 35-65). The average hospital stay was 7 days,In our investigation, 8 patients were diagnosed with diabetes and were on medication. There were no new diagnoses in our study. In our investigation, four of the twenty patients were smokers. The majority of surgical wounds in our study were cleanly infected. For 14 surgeries, the surgery lasted more than two hours. Twelve patients had a postoperative stay of three to seven days. Eight patients had extended hospital stays. Conclusion: Surgeons, infection control practitioners, health planners, and the general public now recognise surgical site infection as a quality indicator of patient care. In comparison to the industrialised world, our environment continues to have a high incidence of SSI.In order to develop strategies that will promote a decrease in the rate of wound infections, our study forces us to examine the weaknesses in our surgical and infection control procedures. Reducing the preoperative hospital stays can lower SSI.