What type of study is this?

This is a Cross-Sectional Study study.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To identify the prevalence and types of organisms causing surgical site infections in surgical patients.

December 19, 2025

Prevalence of Causative Organisms at Surgical Site Infections in Patients Undergoing Surgery at a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study

Key Points

To identify the prevalence and types of organisms causing surgical site infections in surgical patients.
Conducted a cross-sectional observational study at a tertiary care hospital.
Included 343 patients with surgical site infections from January to December 2024.
Collected data on demographics and pathogens from pus cultures using standard microbiological techniques.
Most common pathogens were Klebsiella spp. (20.4%), Enterobacter spp. (12.5%), Escherichia coli (12.2%), and Staphylococcus aureus (8.7%).
12.5% of patients showed no growth on culture, while a few had mixed growth (0/9%).
Gram-negative bacteria were more frequently implicated than Gram-positive organisms.

Abstract

Objective: To identify the prevalence and type of causative organisms responsible for surgical site infections(SSIs)inpatientsundergoingsurgeryattheGeneralSurgeryDepartment,Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad.Methodology: Across-sectional observational study was conducted from January to December 2024. Atotal of 343 patients who developed SSIs following elective or emergency surgeries were included. Immunocompromised patients, those on immunosuppressants, and patients with infections at other sites were excluded. Data on patient demographics, type of pathogens isolated from pus cultures were collected. Microbiological identification was performed using standard techniques, and data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.Results: The most common pathogen identified was Klebsiella spp.(20.4%) Enterobacter spp. (12.5%), Escherichia coli (12.2%) and Staphylococcus aureus (8.7%). Some patients (12.5%) showed no growth on culture (12.5%), while a few had mixed growth (0/9%). Gram-negative bacteria were more frequently implicated than Gram-positive organisms, indicating their central role in SSIs in this setting. Conclusion: Gram-negative bacteria, particularly Klebsiella spp., were the primary causative agents ofSSIsatPIMS.Thesefindingsunderlinetheimportanceofmicrobialsurveillanceandcanguidecliniciansin selecting appropriate antimicrobial strategies and implementing infection prevention measures.Keywords: Surgical Wound Infection, Klebsiella Infections, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus.

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