Abstract
BACKGROUND: Surgical interventions are common in infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Despite our awareness of the broad impact of surgical site infection (SSI), there are little data in neonates. Our objective was to determine the rate and clinical impact of SSI in infants admitted to the NICU. METHODS: Provincial population-based study of infants admitted to a tertiary care NICU. SSI, explicitly defined, was included if it occurred within 30 days of a skin/mucosal-breaking surgical intervention. RESULTS: Among 724 infants who underwent 1039 surgical interventions very low birth weight (VLBW) infants were over-represented. The overall SSI rate was 4.3 per 100 interventions [CI 95% 3.2 to 5.7], up to 19 per 100 dirty interventions (wound class 4) [CI 95% 4.0 to 46]. Rates were higher in infants following gastroschisis closure (13 per 100 infants [CI 95% 5.8 to 24]), whereas they were generally low following a ligation of a ductus arteriosus. Infants with SSI required longer hospitalization after adjusting for co-morbidities (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Data from this relatively large contemporary study suggest that SSI rates in the NICU setting are more comparable to the pediatric age group. However, VLBW infants and those undergoing gastroschisis closure represent high risk groups.