Purpose: To clarify the impact of surgical site infection (SSI) after colorectal surgery on the length of hospital stay and medical expenditure in Japan.
Methods: This was a multi-center, retrospective-matched case-control study.
Results: The total number of patients enrolled was 334 (167 case/control pairs). The average hospital stay after surgery was prolonged by 17.8 days (95% CI 11.9-23.5) and the average medical cost after surgery was increased by $5,938 (95% CI 3,610-8,367) in the SSI group versus the non-SSI group. Hospital charges comprised the largest among all cost categories and accounted for 53% of the additional cost. The hospital stay and medical costs both increased proportionately to the depth of the SSI, from 4.4 days and $608 for superficial incisional SSI, to 39.2 days and $14,448 for organ/space SSI. SSI caused by MRSA prolonged the hospital stay by 19.3 days and incurred an additional cost of $7,015.
Conclusions: SSI clearly prolonged the hospital stay and increased medical costs. The numerical values revealed by this study reinforce the medical-economic importance of instigating preventive measures against SSI.