SURGICAL SITE INFECTIONS: PREVALENCE, ASSOCIATED FACTORS AND ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERNS OF THE BACTERIAL ISOLATES AMONG POSTOPERATIVE PATIENTS IN SANA’A, YEMEN
Authors: Alhadi Yahya Abdullah Ahmed , Al-Kibsi Taghreed Ahmed M , Al-Shamahy Hassan Abdulwahab , Aldeen Yusra Ahmed Ali Sharf 
Published: July 2022

Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are infections that occur one month after a surgical operation or one year after implant surgery and a surgical procedure, either at the injury site or near the injury site. Despite SSIs are still a major problem causing increased morbidity and mortality globally, especially in developing countries, there is a dearth of information in Yemen.
Objective: This study was aimed to assess the prevalence of SSIs, associated factors and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the bacterial isolates among post-operative patients in public and private hospitals in Sana’a, Yemen.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out on 309 postoperative patients, aged one year and over that underwent surgery in selected public and private hospitals between January 2019 and January 2020 in Sana’a. Patients’ demographic and clinical information were assessed using an interviewer-administered, pretested, structured questionnaire. Wound swabs and aspirates were collected, placed in Stuart transport media and transferred to the Bacteriology Department of the National Center for Public Health Laboratories in Sana’a for bacterial isolation, identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing..
Results: The mean age of postoperative patients was 34.0±18.3 (SD) years, age group 25-34 years was 93 (30.1%), and females were 105 (33.8%). Total 309 postoperative patients, 98 (31.7%) presented with SSI. Having postoperative antibiotics (OR=7.0, 95%CI: 4.1-12.0), dirty surgical wound (OR=10.5, 95%CI: 5.0-21.9), emergency surgery (OR=3.1, 95%CI: 1.8-5.1), amputation (OR=2.5, 95%CI: 1.1-5.7), excision (OR=2.2, 95%CI: 1.2-4.0), hospital stay > two weeks (OR=5.2, 95%CI: 2.3-11.1) and having diabetes mellitus (OR=2.2, 95%CI: 1.1-4.7) were factors significantly associated with SSIs.
Conclusion: This study shows a significant proportion of SSIs among patients in Sana’a, Yemen. Being a female, having a dirty surgical wound, amputation, excision, long hospital stays, diabetes mellitus, and emergency surgery appears to be the major factors associated with SSIs. The most common SSI bacterial etiology is S. aureus, sensitive to vancomycin and rifampicin.
                  
Peer Review History:
Received: 10 May 2022; Revised: 12 June; Accepted: 30 June, Available online: 15 July 2022
Academic Editor: Prof. Dr. Gorkem Dulger, Duzce University, Turkey, gorkemdulger@yandex.com
UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. 
Received file:                                Reviewer's Comments:
Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 6.0/10
Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 7.5/10
Reviewers:
Dr. Bountain Welcome Tebeda,Chemical Pathology Department, Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Nigeria. bountaintebeda@yahoo.com
Dr. Esther Marguerite Chase DJANGA, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Department of Public Health. University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon. e.djanga@yahoo.com
Similar Articles:  
EFFECT OF MOST COMMON ANTIBIOTICS AGAINST BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM SURGICAL WOUNDS IN ADEN GOVERNORATE HOSPITALS, YEMEN
PREVALENCE OF METHICILLIN RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS (MRSA) AND ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERNS AT A PRIVATE HOSPITAL IN SANA'A, YEMEN