Quantitative bacteriology of intraoperative wound tissue in contaminated surgery

This study was designed to evaluate the predictive value of quantitative bacteriology of intraoperative wound tissue in identifying the patient likely to develop wound infection, as well as its subsequent flora. Forty-one patients undergoing contaminated cancer surgery of the head and neck were studied. Intraoperatively, a sample of wound tissue was cultured and anaerobic and aerobic bacterial isolates quantitated. The wound infection rate was 22% (9 of 41). There was no significant correlation between intraoperative tissue bacterial density and subsequent wound infection, or contaminating and infecting bacteria.