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POSTOPERATIVE WOUND INFECTIONS: A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS
Author(s) -
Kune G. A.,
Moritz V.,
Carson P.,
Farmer I.,
Chan A.,
Read A.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1983.tb02436.x
Subject(s) - medicine , staphylococcus aureus , nose , throat , wound infection , skin flora , surgery , gastrointestinal tract , bacteriology , staphylococcal infections , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , genetics , biology
Of 200 patients, 6.5% were skin carriers of Staphylococcus aureus and 3.5% became skin carriers after admission. Development of skin carrier state was associated with a long preoperative hospital stay. A second study of 275 cases showed that skin carriers of S. aureus had a significantly higher subsequent staph wound infection rate than non‐carriers, but nose and/or throat carriers of S. aureus did not. Peroperative wound contamination was a significant factor in the subsequent development of wound infection. In clean surgery the infection rate was 5.9%. Both wound contamination and infection was due to gram positive organisms, usually S. aureus. When the gastrointestinal or biliary tract had been opened, the infection rate was 28%, the usual contaminating and infecting organisms were enteric and only occasionally S. aureus. There is a need for improved methods of minimizing peroperative wound contamination.