RISK FACTORS FOR SURGICAL WOUND INFECTION AFTER ELECTIVE LAPAROSCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY

Area of Science:

• Surgical infection prevention
• Clinical outcomes research

Background:

• Antibiotic prophylaxis is used to prevent surgical site infections, particularly in cholecystectomies.
• Current guidelines vary on universal antibiotic prophylaxis for cholecystectomies, with limited evidence supporting its use without specific risk factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the incidence of wound infection after elective laparoscopic cholecystectomies.
• To assess the impact of antibiotic prophylaxis on wound infection rates in these procedures.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 439 patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy for chronic cholecystitis and cholelithiasis.
• Analysis of wound infection incidence and correlation with various risk factors, including antibiotic prophylaxis use.

Main Results:

• A low incidence of wound infection (1.59%) was observed.
• No significant difference in infection rates was found between patients who received antibiotic prophylaxis and those who did not.
• Male gender was identified as a statistically significant risk factor for wound infection (p=0.013).

Conclusions:

• The study suggests that routine antibiotic prophylaxis may not be necessary for all elective laparoscopic cholecystectomies.
• Non-use of antibiotic prophylaxis and other analyzed factors did not significantly increase wound infection occurrence.
• Larger studies with a dedicated control group are recommended to further investigate these findings.