Reducing Morbidity in Urgent Gastroenterologic Surgery; Propensity Score Analysis Using Triclosan-Coated Polydioxanone Sutures

Superficial surgical site infections (S-SSIs), which prolonged hospital stay and increased costs, are a critical problem. The aim of the present study was to clarify the risk factors for S-SSIs after urgent gastroenterologic surgery and what surgeons can do to reduce their incidence and to shorten the hospital stay. A total of 275 patients who underwent urgent gastroenterologic surgery were enrolled in the present study. The correlations between the incidence of S-SSIs and clinicopathologic factors were retrospectively analyzed using propensity score matching. Of 275 cases, 43 (15.6%) patients had an S-SSI. On univariate analysis, the following factors were associated with a significantly higher incidence of S-SSI: American Society of Anesthesiologists score (P = 0.043); wound classification (P = 0.0005); peritonitis (P = 0.019); prolonged operation time (P = 0.0001); increased blood loss (P = 0.019); transfusion (P = 0.0047); and abdominal closure without triclosan-coated polydioxanone sutures (P = 0.042). However, a propensity score-matching analysis showed that abdominal closure using triclosan-coated polydioxanone sutures did not reduce the incidence of S-SSIs in patients who underwent urgent gastroenterologic surgery (P = 0.20), but it tended to be associated with a shorter hospital stay (P = 0.082). To reduce morbidity after urgent gastroenterologic surgery, surgeons should shorten the operation time and decrease the blood loss. In addition, abdominal closure using triclosan-coated polydioxanone sutures alone could not reduce the incidence of S-SSIs but might shorten the hospital stay after urgent gastroenterologic surgery by inhibiting bacterial activity and preventing prolongation of the infections.