Publications

Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) are infections that occur within 30 days of a surgical incision,making them the most common form of hospital-acquired infections in sub-Saharan Africa.These infections increase the risk of complications, length of hospital stays, healthcarerelatedcosts, laparotomy, and death. A retrospective study at Hoima Regional ReferralHospital assessed the incidence, patterns, and outcomes of SSIs following laparotomy. Thestudy found that 17.6% of patients received SSI, with the majority (46.5%) having superficialincisional SSI, 34.8% having organ/space infection, and 18.6% having incisional SSI. Thepercentage of patients dying in the SSI group was higher than that in the group without SSI(4.7% vs. 3.5%). However, the difference was not significant. 55.8% of SSI patients were reoperated,while no patient with no SSI was re-operated. The average length of hospital stayamong SSI patients was 16.26 days longer than that of patients without SSI. SSI remains asignificant burden in midwestern Uganda, with increased LOS and need for reoperation.The study recommends implementing measures to reduce SSIs as outlined by the WorldHealth Organization.