Abstract
Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the most common type of hospital-acquired infection among hospitalized surgical patients. This study aims to identify the risk factors for surgical site infections in hospitalized surgical patients.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Taizhou, Zhejiang, China. Data from hospitalized patients who had surgery between January 1st and September 30th, 2022, were analyzed using univariate analysis, logistic regression, and ROC curve in R software. A total of 43,767 patients were included in the study.
Results: The average age of the study population was 48.9 (± 21.1). Univariate analysis revealed significant associations between surgical site infections and most of the identified risk factors. After logistic regression, the significant risk factors included duration of surgery, use of antibiotics, cancer diagnosis, elderly age, prolonged bed rest, delayed suture closure of incision, use of a urinary catheter, catheter placement, and transfusion. However, after logistic regression and ROC curve analysis, the length of hospital stay and thoracentesis were found to be the most significant factors associated with surgical site infections, with an 87.2% prediction accuracy.
Conclusion: Surgical site infections can increase the length of hospital stay and medical expenses. To reduce the incidence of surgical site infections in hospitals, it is important to implement pre-operative planning, inpatient healthcare services, and post-operative surveillance.

Key words: surgical site infections, hospital acquired infections, risk factors, China, nosocomial infections