Background: Our aim was to assess the impact of laparoscopy on surgical site infections.
Methods: An analysis was performed using the data of the German national nosocomial infections surveillance system (Krankenhaus-Infektions-Surveillance-Systems, KISS) collected during the period from January 2001 to June 2006. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to investigate the influence of age, gender, ASA score, duration of surgery, wound contamination class and surgical technique.
Results and conclusions: A total of 18,249 appendectomies, 32,912 herniorrhaphies, 42,949 cholecystectomies and 19,523 colon operations were analysed. The overall surgical site infection rate was significantly higher (2.6-fold) for the open approach compared to laparoscopically performed appendectomies. For herniorrhaphies, cholecystectomies and colon operations the corresponding odds ratios were 3.40, 3.22 and 1.20 respectively. Whenever possible a laparoscopic approach should be used.