METHODS
A retrospective case-control study of data from individuals who had an
emergency CS procedure performed between 1st January
2017 and 31st December 2017 at Pinderfields General
Hospital, Wakefield; part of the Mid Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust was
conducted. Following written approval, data was collected from the
electronic databases used by the Mid Yorkshire Maternity department,
comprising data of all patients seen and treated by Pinderfields
obstetrics department.
Inclusion criteria were:
- Women who had an emergency CS performed between 1stJanuary 2017 and 31st December 2017
- Women with a positive wound swab indicating an infection less than 30
days after the procedure
- Women without a positive wound swab for non-SSI cases
Exclusion criteria were:
- Any women with an infection such as sepsis that could not be traced
back to an SSI
- Any women who did not have an emergency CS performed between
1st January 2017 and 31st December
2017
- Patients with hypothyroidism
The following variables were collected: grade of CS (categorised as
1-4), smoking status (categorised as current smoker, ex-smoker or
non-smoker), whether or not a pre-operative vaginal swab was taken,
diabetes status (categorised as non-diabetic, Type I, Type II or
gestational), grade of surgeon (categorised as registrar, specialist
trainee, consultant, senior house officer (SHO) or associate
specialist), patient age, patient body mass index (BMI), membrane
rupture to delivery interval and length of surgery.
The sample was summarised descriptively. A series of uni-variable
logistic regression screening analyses were conducted on the outcome of
SSI status to identify variables substantively associated with the
outcome (p <0.200); with low-frequency categories of
certain variables combined where appropriate. All such variables were
carried forward into a corresponding multiple logistic regression
analysis. All analyses reported unadjusted or adjusted odds ratios with
associated 95% confidence intervals, P-value and the percentage of
correct classifications.