Teaching in the operating room: A risk for surgical site infections?

Background/aim: To investigate whether teaching procedures and surgical experience are associated with surgical site infection (SSI) rates. Methods: This prospective cohort study of patients undergoing general, orthopedic trauma and vascular surgery procedures was done between 2012 and 2015 at two tertiary care hospitals in Switzerland/Europe. Results: Out of a total of 4560 patients/surgeries, 1403 (30.8%) were classified as teaching operations. The overall SSI rate was 5.1% (n = 233). Teaching operations (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.57-1.07, p = 0.120), junior surgeons (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.55-1.15, p = 0.229) and surgical experience (OR 0.997, 95% CI 0.982e1.012, p = 0.676) were overall not independently associated with the odds of SSI. However, for surgeons' seniority and experience, these associations depended on the duration of surgery. Conclusions: In procedures of shorter and medium duration, teaching procedures and junior as well as less experienced surgeons are not independently associated with increased odds of SSI. (c) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.