European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Introduction: Surgical site infections (SSI) constitute a major public health problem worldwide and are the second most frequently reported nosocomial infections. They are responsible for increasing the treatment cost, length of hospital stay and significant morbidity and mortality.Aim: To isolate, identify and study bacteriological profile of surgical site infections,with  antibiogram.Materials and Methods: Samples were collected using sterile cotton swabs from 190 patients clinically diagnosed of having SSIs and were processed as per standard microbiological techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done using modified Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. This Prospective study was conducted for a period of one year (January 2016 to December 2016) in the Department of Microbiology at Yenepoya Medical college hospital, Mangalore, India.Results:. Out of total 190 samples, 170 (89.4%) yielded bacterial growth.Most common predisposing factors causing surgical site infections were patients having Diabetes mellitus(23.53%) followed by Smokers(14.12),Hypertension(11.76).Escherichia coli (24.12%) was the commonest organism followed by Staphylococcus aureus(18.82%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (18.24%) and Coagulase negative Staphylococcus species (14.12%). Antimicrobial profile of gram positive isolates revealed maximum sensitivity to Vancomycin, Teicoplanin and Linezolid, whereas among gram negative isolates Imepenem, Piperacillin-tazobactam, and Amikacin were found to be most sensitive.Conclusion: The rate of SSI observed in this study was comparable to other similar studies, however we observed a higher degree of antimicrobial resistance. Adherence to strict infection control measures, maintenance of proper hand hygiene and optimal preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative patient care will surely reduce the incidence of SSIs.