The Prevention of Surgical Site Infection in Elective Colon Surgery

Table 2

Identifies the patient risk factors and the treatment-related risk factors that influence SSI rates in patients undergoing elective colectomy.

Patient risk factors		Treatment-related risk factors
Advanced age	Obesity	Length of operation	Hair removal strategy
Alcoholism	Drug abuse	OR traffic	Glove/barrier failure
HIV disease	Chronic liver disease	Poor antibiotic timing	Wrong antibiotic choice
Chronic renal disease	Corticosteroids	Intraoperative “spill”	Excessive electrocautery
Chronic tobacco use	Diabetes	Skin antiseptics	Adhesive drapes
Hyperglycemia	Chronic lung disease	Contaminated instruments	Contaminated irrigation solution
Hypoalbuminemia	Malignancy	Preoperative showers	Braided suture material
Nasal colonization	Preoperative nursing home	Excessive traction/wound trauma	Wound dead space
Chronic hemodialysis	Recent hospitalization	Transfusion	Drains
Presence of stoma	ASA score	Wound hematoma	Glove starch
Resistant Bacterial Colonization	Virulent colonization	Intraoperative hypothermia	OR air handling systems
Prehospitalization antibiotics	Inflammatory bowel disease	Antibacterial sutures	Wound sealants
Prior surgical site infections	Preoperative anemia	Patient controlled analgesia	Pulsed-lavage of the surgical site
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents	Recent weight loss	Mechanical bowel preparation	Oral antibiotic bowel preparation