WOFAPS 2025 8th World Congress of Pediatric Surgery

Esther Saguil, Ismael Ammad

Philippine General Hospital

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BACKGROUNDS AND OBJECTIVES

SSIs are often underestimated when surgeons self report the morbidity. We undertook an institutional surveillance program to determine the true incidence of surgical site infections (SSI) in pediatric appendectomies in our institution . We aim to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who developed SSI, and identify factors that are associated with an increased risk of SSI.

METHODS

Data from the department electronic medical records from an SSI institutional surveillance program of 409 cases of pediatric appendectomies were reviewed retrospectively from a two year period.

RESULTS

The overall incidence of SSI in post-appendectomy patients is 17.11%. The age of the patients who underwent appendectomy ranged from 1 to 18years, with a mean age of 12.48 years. Among those who developed SSI, the mean age is 12.47 years. The risk factors evaluated in the study included age, gender, operative time, operative approach, use of prophylactic antibiotics, and intraoperative findings of suppurative or ruptured appendicitis. None of these factors showed significant association with SSI rates of post-appendectomy patients. The pre-surveillance incidence was only 5% .

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to international data, the current high incidence of SSI in pediatric appendectomies in our institution confirms the need to improve compliance with SSI prevention guidelines. This also emphasizes the importance of continued surveillance of SSI in our institution. Reinforcement of guidelines in SSI prevention, and development of institutional protocols are necessary to furthe lower the incidence of SSI in pediatric appendectomies.