Surgical site infection in bariatric surgery: results of a care bundle

to present a descriptive analysis of the results of a care bundle applied to obese patients submitted to bariatric surgery, regarding infection control.

a care bundle was designed to control surgical site infection (SSI) rates in patients undergoing bariatric surgery. The bundle included smoking cessation, bathing with 4% chlorhexidine two hours before surgery, cefazolin (2g bolus) in anesthetic induction associated with a continuous infusion of the same drug at a dose of 1g over a two-hour period, appropriate trichotomy, glycemic control, supplemental oxygen, normothermia, intraspinal morphine for the relief of pain, and sterile dressing removal 48 hours after surgery. All patients were followed up for 30 days.

among the 1,596 included patients, 334 (20.9%) underwent open surgery and 1,262 (79.1%) underwent videolaparoscopic surgery. SSI rates were 0.5% in the group submitted to laparoscopic surgery and 3% in the one submitted to open surgery. The overall incidence of SSI was 1%. Intra-abdominal, respiratory tract, and urinary tract infections occurred in 0.9%, 1.1%, and 1.5% of the sample, respectively. Higher body mass index was associated with higher incidence of SSI (p=0.001). Among patients with diabetes, 2.2% developed SSI, while the rate of infection among non-diabetics was only 0.6%.

the established care bundle, structured by core evidence-based strategies, associated with secondary measures, was able to maintain low SSI rates after bariatric surgery.