Incidence of and risk factors for surgical site infections in women undergoing hysterectomy for endometrial carcinoma

The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of, and risk factors for, surgical site infections in a contemporary cohort of women with endometrial carcinoma. Material and methods We retrospectively studied 1164 women treated for endometrial carcinoma by hysterectomy at a single institution in 2007–2013. In all, 912 women (78.4%) had minimally invasive hysterectomy. Data on surgical site infections were collected from medical records. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify risk factors for incisional and organ/space infections. Results Ninety‐four women (8.1%) were diagnosed with a surgical site infection. Twenty women (1.7%) had an incisional infection and 74 (6.4%) had an organ/space infection. The associations of 17 clinico‐pathologic and surgical variables were tested by univariate analyses. Those variables that were identified as potential risk factors in univariate analyses ( p < 0.15) were used in logistic regression models with incisional and organ/space infections as dependent variables. Obesity (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ), diabetes, and long operative time (>80th centile) were independently associated with a higher risk of incisional infection, whereas minimally invasive surgery was associated with a smaller risk. Smoking, conversion to laparotomy, and lymphadenectomy were associated with a higher risk of organ/space infection. Conclusions Organ/space infections comprised the majority of surgical site infections. Risk factors for incisional and organ/space infections differed. Minimally invasive hysterectomy was associated with a smaller risk of incisional infections but not of organ/space infections.