Risk factors for Surgical Site Infections in Vascular Procedures: A systematic review.

Area of Science:

• Vascular Surgery
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Surgical Site Infection (SSI) is a significant postoperative complication in vascular surgery.
• Identifying modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors is essential for improving patient outcomes.
• Previous research has explored various factors, but a comprehensive synthesis specific to vascular procedures is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and identify risk factors associated with a higher incidence of SSI in patients undergoing vascular surgery.
• To synthesize evidence from studies published between 2018 and 2023.
• To provide an updated understanding of SSI risk factors in this specific surgical population.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review was conducted using a defined guiding question.
• Four major electronic databases (Virtual Health Library, PubMed Central, SciVerse Scopus, EMBASE) were searched for relevant literature from 2018 to 2023.
• Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane's RoB 2.0 for RCTs and JBI's Checklist for cohort studies.

Main Results:

• Twenty studies, analyzing data from 49,309 patients across 9 countries, were included.
• The overall mean incidence of SSI was 11.02%.
• Fifty-two distinct risk factors were identified, including diabetes, glycemic status, obesity, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) index, and longer surgery duration.

Conclusions:

• Diabetes, obesity, higher ASA index, and prolonged surgical times are significant risk factors for SSI in vascular surgery.
• The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to mitigate these risks.
• A notable gap exists as no reviewed studies originated from the Global South.