Patients undergoing surgery are at risk of surgical site infection-SSI. According to data from the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System-NNISS, in the United States surgical infections are the second most common type of nosocomial infection. The aim of this study is to assess surgical-site infection rates for patients operated in a general hospital in Northeasteen Brazil, break them down according to the Surgical Infection Risk Index-SIRI, and then classify such infections according to their gravity. A prospective evaluation was conducted of 2,149 surgical patients between January 1996 and January 1998, at the Cesar Cals General Hospital, using the methodology of the NNISS, adapted to our hospital. Definition standards were those recommended by Center for Disease Control-CDC- 1992. Statistical analysis was based on Qui-square test of Pearson. Of the 2,149 NNISS patients operated, 120 developed infection, thus corresponding to a general surgical- site infection rate of 5.6%. Broken down according to the Surgical Infection Risk Index-SIRI, such rates correspond to 3.2%, 7.4%, 16.6% and 20.9% for the risk-index groups 0, 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Of all NNISS surgical procedures monitored at the Service, 1,478 (68.8%) were included in SIRI 0. In that group, 47 patients developed infection, the superficial incisional being the predominant infection type, which accounted for 45 cases (95.7%). In contrast, in SIRI 3, out of the 67 surgeries (3.14% of the total), 14 developed infection, 10 of which (71.4%) were deep incisional or organ cavity infection. Out of the 120 infections occurred in 2,149 surgeries performed in the period January 1996-January 1998,39 (32.5%) were diagnosed in outpatient wards. The rates obtained under NNISS recommendations are trustworth and allow comparative studies among different institutions.
Operative wound; Surgical infection; Postoperative complications