Association of patient and clinical characteristics with surgical site infections following hysterectomy for oncologic indications: a single-center retrospective study

Background The primary aim of this study was to identify patient and clinical characteristics associated with surgical site infections (SSI) following hysterectomies performed for oncologic indications.Methods We conducted a retrospective study of patients with oncologic indications who underwent hysterectomy between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, at our institution. We performed a bivariate analysis between patients who did and did not develop a postoperative SSI. We then performed a multivariate logistic regression with variables of interest to determine which patient and clinical characteristics were independently associated with developing a posthysterectomy SSI.Results Among 194 patients who underwent hysterectomy for oncologic indications, 182 who identified as Black, Hispanic, or White were included in the bivariate analysis. A total of 14 patients (7.7%) developed SSI. There were 176 patients from the bivariate analysis with complete serum albumin data included in the multivariate logistic regression. Surgical incision time after 3:30 pm was independently associated with developing an SSI (adjusted odds ratio 6.92; 95% confidence interval 1.84–25.97; P = 0.004).Conclusion Among patients who underwent hysterectomy for oncologic indications, those who had a surgical incision start time of 3:30 pm or later had an approximately sevenfold increase in SSI.