Incidence and Risk Factors of Postoperative Complications in General Surgery Patients

Background Postoperative complications, which are undesirable consequences of surgery, need to be minimized to ensure the quality of surgical care. In this study, we aimed to estimate the incidence and identify the risk factors for postoperative complications which may help in planning appropriate preventive measures. Methodology A prospective observational study was conducted in the general surgery department of a tertiary care hospital in a metropolitan city in India. Patients undergoing elective or emergency surgery were included. Patients transferred postoperatively from other hospitals and those undergoing day-care operations or endoscopic procedures were excluded. Age, gender, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, surgical risk as per American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grading, scheduling of surgery (emergency, semi-emergency, or elective), approach (open or laparoscopic), intraoperative complications, operative blood loss, the extent of surgery (superficial or deep cavity), indication (diagnostic, therapeutic, or palliative), duration of surgery, wound class (clean, clean-contaminated, contaminated, or dirty), and duration of hospital stay in days were recorded. Patients were followed up for 30 days postoperatively for complications (defined as any undesirable, unintended event as a direct result of an operation). Clavien-Dindo classification was used to grade the severity of complications. The chi-square test was used for categorical data, and the t-test was used for numerical data. P-values <0.05 were considered significant. Results Postoperative complications were observed in 31.50%; minor complications (Grade I and II) in 19.75% and major complications (Grade III and IV) in 8.0% of patients. Postoperative mortality (Grade V) was 3.75%. Significant risk factors were the presence of comorbidities, higher ASA grade, higher BMI, emergency surgery, open surgery, palliative surgery, deeper cavity surgery, higher intraoperative blood loss, prolonged surgical duration, intraoperative complications, and contaminated surgical wounds. Postoperative complications significantly prolonged the hospital stay. Conclusions Understanding risk factors can guide surgeons to adopt appropriate strategic measures to reduce postoperative complications and improve the quality of surgical care. Three key measures emerging from this study are (1) preoperative patient optimization; (2) diligence during surgery to reduce operative time, blood loss, and intraoperative complications; and (3) implementation of infection control practices.