Prevalence and Risk Factors for Surgical Site Infections among Patients in Referral Hospitals in Rwanda.

Background: Post-operative surgical site infections (SSIs) are a global public health problem, disproportionately affecting developing countries. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence and risk factors for SSIs among patients admitted to tertiary hospitals in Rwanda.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional involving 396 medical files for surgical patients discharged between July 2020, and December 2021 to assess the prevalence and risk factors associated with surgical site infections. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 25.

Results: Of 396 participants, 121(30.6%) developed SSIs. SSIs was significantly associated with spending more than 120 minutes (COR = 2.87, 95% CI: 1.58-5.23) in operation and undergoing emergency admission (COR = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.08-2.57) were associated with higher odds of developing surgical site infections. In multivariable analysis, after controlling for covariates, spending more than 120 minutes in operation (AOR = 2.52, 95% CI: 1.29-4.93) and undergoing emergency admission (AOR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.032.73) remained significantly associated with surgical site infections.

Conclusion: The 30.6% of surgical patients developed post-operative SSIs despite receiving prophylactic antibiotic. Therefore, regular infection surveillance and adherence to preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative infection prevention measures are crucial to reduce the burden of SSIs.