Impact of surgical site infections after open and laparoscopic colon and rectal surgeries on postoperative resource consumption

To estimate the impact of surgical site infection (SSI) on postoperative resource consumption for colon and rectal open and laparoscopic surgeries after accounting for infection depth and patient characteristics, and to compare these estimates among institutions.

We collected administrative and SSI-related data from eight Japanese hospitals, and used generalized linear models to estimate excess postoperative length of stay (LOS) and charges attributable to SSI. Covariates included wound class, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, operation time, emergency, colostomy, trauma, implant, and comorbidities.

We examined 1,108 colon surgery (CS) and 477 rectal surgery (RS) patients. For open surgery, the postoperative LOS in non-SSI patients was 13.5 (CS) and 15.9 days (RS). Compared with non-SSI patients, the postoperative LOS increased by 4.5 (CS) and 2.8 days (RS) for superficial SSI, 6.8 (CS) and 8.5 days (RS) for deep SSI, and 7.8 and 9.5 days for space/organ SSI. For laparoscopic surgery, the postoperative LOS was 9.8 (CS) and 14.6 days (RS). SSI was significantly associated with increased postoperative LOS for superficial SSI [by 4.8 (CS) and 3.6 days (RS)], deep SSI [by 10.3 (CS) and 23.9 days (RS)], and space/organ SSI [by 8.9 days (RS)]. The postoperative LOS among hospitals was 3.8–10.4 days (CS) and 1.3–12.2 days (RS). Postoperative SSI-attributable charges ranged from $386 to $2,873, depending on organ, procedure, and infection depth.

This study quantified the impact of SSIs on resource consumption and confirmed significant cost variations among hospitals. These variations could not be explained by patient characteristics or infection type.