A Compararative Study to Evaluate Surgical Site Infections Using Diathermy and Scalpel
Keywords:
Surgery, Electrocautery, Skin incision, Surgical site infection.Abstract
Background: The use of electrocautery for making skin incisions remains controversial. Aim: Its effect on the rate of Superficial Surgical Site Infection (SSSI) vis-à-vis scalpel use was compared in this study. Methods: A total of 100 patients undergoing open inguinal hernia repair were divided into two: 50 in Electrocautery group, 50 in Scalpel group. Patients were assessed for up to 30 days post-operatively by an assessor blinded to the method used for making skin incision. CDC/NHSN criterion for SSSI was adopted for wound assessment while grading was done using Southampton Wound Grading System. Results: Both groups had comparable mean age (p-value=0.29) and BMI (p-value=0.39). The difference in the incidence of SSSI (5 in Electrocautery, 7 in Scalpel group) on statistical analysis was found to not be significant (p-value=0.53).
Conclusion: We conclude that skin incision made with electrocautery is a safe alternative and a convenient method for performing surgeries.
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Copyright (c) 2021 Jaikant Paswan, Bijendra Kumar Mishra, V.S. Prasad
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.