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Infectious complications following abdominal hysterectomy in Karachi, Pakistan
Author(s) -
Ahmed F.,
Wasti S.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/s0020-7292(00)00246-0
Subject(s) - medicine , abdominal hysterectomy , hysterectomy , urinary system , surgery , pelvic infection , retrospective cohort study , hematoma , malignancy , abdominal wound , population , family planning , environmental health , research methodology
Objective: In this paper we studied the prevalence of post‐operative infections after total abdominal hysterectomy in Karachi, Pakistan and their associated risk factors. Method: A retrospective analysis was conducted by reviewing the case notes of 827 consecutive total abdominal hysterectomies. Results: The post‐operative infection rate was 22%. Of the patients, 6% (49) developed operative site infections including wound and vaginal cuff infections and pelvic abscesses while 16% (133) developed non‐operative site infections including urinary tract infections and thrombophlebitis. Six risk factors were found to be significantly associated with post‐operative infections: a pre‐operative hospitalization of more than 2 days ( P <0.02); additional non‐gynecological procedures performed intra‐operatively ( P <0.02); indwelling catheterization for more than 7 days ( P <0.001); patient's age greater than 50 years ( P <0.02); an underlying malignancy ( P <0.0001); and developing a hematoma post‐operatively ( P <0.04). Conclusion: The results of this study may serve as a baseline for future comparison and indicate interventions which may contribute to a reduction in the post‐operative infection rate.