Abstract

Caesarean Section as a mode of delivery is the most commonly done surgical procedure in
maternity departments all over the world. Surgical site infection complicates about one-third
to two-thirds of caesarean sections in low-income countries which is about 9 times higher
compared with the high-resource countries. Surgical Site Infection is associated with
increased maternal morbidity, prolonged hospital stay and increased medical costs. The
development of post-caesarean surgical site infection is hung on a complex interplay of many
factors not limited to wound class, immune status, maternal age, hypertensive disorders, ASA
classification, number of vaginal examinations, the virulence of the microorganisms,
maternal weight, surgical techniques and premature rupture of membrane. The study
employed a descriptive cross-sectional and quantitative approach to study the factors
influencing the prevalence of surgical site infections among mothers undergoing caesarean
section in Iganga Hospital. A sample size of 288 participants were enrolled using a random
sampling technique and close-ended questionnaires were employed to obtain the data from
participants. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20 and statistical significance was
set at a P-value less than 0.05 at 95% confidence interval. A total of 288 post-caesarean
mothers were studied from October – November 2021 in Iganga Hospital. The majority of the
participants were married 255(88.8%) and had a secondary level of education 142(49.3%). The
mean age of the participants were 25.6 years with 21 as the modal age. The prevalence of
surgical site infection among post-caesarean mothers at Iganga Hospital was 20.5% (59 out
of 288) and the factors which were statistically influencing the SSI included early rupture of
membranes of more than 18 hours (aOR 23.715 95% C.I 5.976-94.117, P 0000) and
postoperative haemoglobin (aOR 15.109 95% C.I 3.494-65.333, P 0.000) There’s a high burden
of SSI among post-caesarean mothers in Iganga Hospital. Early rupture of membranes more
than 18 hours and post-operative haemoglobin less than 11g/dl are key contributory factors.
Aggressive prophylactic and post-operative antibiotic therapy should be considered in
mothers with early rupture of membranes and post-operative anaemia