Multicenter surveillance study of surgical site infection and its risk factors in radical resection of colon or rectal carcinoma

Background Colorectal surgery is associated with high rates of surgical site infection (SSI). We investigated SSI in radical resection of colon or rectal carcinoma and its epidemiological distribution in 26 hospitals in China. Methods We conducted prospective surveillance of patients who underwent radical resection of colon or rectal carcinoma in 26 selected hospitals from January 2015 to June 2016.An information system monitored all of the surgical inpatients. Infection control professionals observed the inpatients with suspected SSI who had been screened by the system at the bedside. The infection status of the incisions was followed up by telephone 1 month after the operation. Results In total, 5729 patients were enrolled for the two operations; SSIs occurred in 206 patients, and the infection rate was 3.60%. The incidence of SSI after radical resection of rectal carcinoma (5.12%; 119/2323) was 2.1 times higher than that after radical resection of colon carcinoma (2.55%; 87/3406) ( P < 0.0001). Additionally, in the colon versus rectal groups, the rate of superficial incisional SSI was 0.94% versus 2.28% ( P < 0.0001), the rate of deep incisional SSI was 0.56% versus 1.11% ( P = 0.018), and the rate of organ space SSI was 1.06% versus 1.72% ( P = 0.031), respectively. The most common pathogens causing SSIs after radical resection of colon carcinoma were Escherichia coli (21/38) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5/38). Escherichia coli (24/65) and Enterococcus spp. (14/65) were the two most common pathogens in the rectal group. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only the operating time and number of hospital beds were common independent risk factors for SSIs after the two types of surgery. Conclusion This multicenter study showed that there were significant differences in the incidence of SSIs, three types of SSIs, and some risk factors between radical resection of colon carcinoma and rectal carcinoma.