Abstract

Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) are infections that occur within 30 days of a surgical incision,
making them the most common form of hospital-acquired infections in sub-Saharan Africa.
These infections increase the risk of complications, length of hospital stays, healthcarerelated
costs, laparotomy, and death. A retrospective study at Hoima Regional Referral
Hospital assessed the incidence, patterns, and outcomes of SSIs following laparotomy. The
study found that 17.6% of patients received SSI, with the majority (46.5%) having superficial
incisional SSI, 34.8% having organ/space infection, and 18.6% having incisional SSI. The
percentage of patients dying in the SSI group was higher than that in the group without SSI
(4.7% vs. 3.5%). However, the difference was not significant. 55.8% of SSI patients were reoperated,
while no patient with no SSI was re-operated. The average length of hospital stay
among SSI patients was 16.26 days longer than that of patients without SSI. SSI remains a
significant burden in midwestern Uganda, with increased LOS and need for reoperation.
The study recommends implementing measures to reduce SSIs as outlined by the World
Health Organization.