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Pediatric surgical site infection in the developing world: a Kenyan experience

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Abstract

Background

The purpose of the current study was to determine the incidence of pediatric surgical site infections (SSIs) at an academic children’s hospital in rural sub-Saharan Africa and to identify potentially modifiable risk factors.

Methods

Prospectively collected data from 1,008 surgical admissions to BethanyKids Kijabe Hospital (Kijabe, Kenya) were analyzed retrospectively. Follow-up data were available in 940 subjects.

Results

SSIs occurred in 6.8% of included subjects (N = 64). Superficial (69%) and deep (29%) infections of the back (38%) and head (25%) were most common. When comparing children who developed SSI to those who did not, we found that wound contamination classification and duration of operation were the only variables with significant differences between groups.

Conclusions

Our rate of SSI among pediatric patients in sub-Saharan Africa is the lowest reported in the literature to date. More work is needed to identify modifiable risk factors for pediatric SSI in low- and middle-income countries.

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Acknowledgments

Data were obtained as part of the clinical trial NCT00987402 for which the authors received financial support from the Velux Foundation of Switzerland through the Swiss Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Box C302, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA

    James H. Wood

  2. BethanyKids at Kijabe Hospital, Kijabe, Kenya

    Peter M. Nthumba, Edita Stepita-Poenaru & Dan Poenaru

Authors
  1. James H. Wood
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  2. Peter M. Nthumba
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  3. Edita Stepita-Poenaru
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  4. Dan Poenaru
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Correspondence to James H. Wood.

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Wood, J.H., Nthumba, P.M., Stepita-Poenaru, E. et al. Pediatric surgical site infection in the developing world: a Kenyan experience. Pediatr Surg Int 28, 523–527 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-012-3058-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-012-3058-x

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