Surgical site infections: a cross-sectional study of bile culture

Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are one of the most common reported healthcare-associated infections worldwide. SSIs are also the most common complication of various surgical procedures, including cholecystectomy which is the standard surgical procedure for calculus cholecystitis. The association between SSIs and cholecystectomy is suspected due to infection from pathogens in the bile. This study aims to determine the relationship between bile culture results and the incidence of SSIs in patients with calculus cholecystitis undergoing cholecystectomy procedures. Methods: This study was an analytic observational study with a cross-sectional design which involved 44 subjects. The data obtained were then analyzed using the Chi square method with the IBM statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 26. Results: There were 44 subjects with calculus cholecystitis included in this study. None of the subjects in this study had SSIs, and also 54.5% of the subjects were given postoperative antibiotics. The results of data analysis showed no significant association between bile culture and SSIs (p>0.05). Additional analysis in this study also revealed no association between type of surgery and bile culture (p>0.05) and between postoperative antibiotic administration and SSIs (p>0.05). Conclusions: Positive bile culture was not associated with the incidence of SSIs in calculus cholecystitis patients undergoing cholecystectomy procedures. The findings of this study also revealed no association between type of surgery and SSIs and postoperative antibiotic administration is not a mandatory for every cholecystectomy procedure.