Background: It is generally believed that the accompanying conditions in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are associated with a high incidence of surgical site infection (SSI), and sometimes these patients are classified as compromised hosts without definitive clinical evidence. The aim of this study was to clarify the impact of IBD on the occurrence and features of SSI in patients with clean-contaminated wounds.
Methods: We conducted prospective SSI surveillance of 580 patients with clean-contaminated wounds who underwent surgery between March 2006 and December 2007 using the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance system. Multivariate analyses using stepwise logistic regression were performed to determine risk factors for SSI.
Results: A total of 562 patients with clean-contaminated wounds who underwent surgery for IBD [ulcerative colitis (UC), n = 173; Crohn's disease (CD), n = 122] or colorectal cancer [(CA), n = 267] were identified for evaluation. SSI was observed in 12.6% of all patients and there was no significant difference in infection rate by type of disease (UC, 14.5%; CD, 13.9%; CA, 10.9%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis yielded an ASA score > or =3 [odds ratio (OR) = 2.04; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.06-3.93] and rectal surgery (OR = 2.35; 95% CI = 1.28-4.31) as independent risk factors for SSI. IBD surgery was not an independent risk factor for overall SSI (OR = 1.62; 95% CI = 0.94-2.80). However, there was a significant difference in the incidence of incisional SSI [IBD, 11.9% (UC, 12.7%; CD, 10.7%); CA, 4.9%, p = 0.003]. In the analysis of rectal surgery, the incidence of incisional SSI was 5.3% in CA patients, 12.0% in UC patients, and 26.3% in CD patients. In contrast to overall SSI data, IBD surgery was found to be an independent risk factor for incisional SSI (OR = 2.59; 95% CI = 1.34-5.03).
Conclusions: In patients of surgery restricted to clean-contaminated wounds, IBD was shown to be an independent risk factor for incisional SSI. With the use of proper operative procedures and techniques, the incidence of organ/space SSI should not be high in patients who undergo an uncomplicated IBD surgical procedure.