Incidence and Determinants of Surgical Site Infections in Upper Limb Surgeries: A Multicentric retrospective cohort Study from Tertiary Referral Hospitals in Jordan
- 1Special Surgery Depatment Mutah University
- 2School of Medicine, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
- 3Anasthesia and Intensive Care Istishari Hospital
Abstract
Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a major cause of complications during orthopedic surgeries. These infections increase the morbidity of patients. Although many studies have been conducted on SSI complications during lower limb surgeries, there is limited information on upper limb surgeries. Therefore, this paper sought to assess the incidence of SSI complications during upper limb surgeries and identify the associated risk factors. In addition, the impact of SSI complications was also assessed. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at a tertiary hospital from January 2024 to December 2025. In total, 546 patients who underwent upper limb surgeries were recruited into the study. Data was extracted from patients' medical records and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics software. SSI complications were defined as superficial or deep wound infections. Descriptive, bivariate, and stratified incidence analyses of the data was conducted. In addition, Chi-square and independent t-tests were used to test the associations at a significance level of 0.05. Results: The total incidence of SSI was 5% (n = 28). No significant correlation was noted between SSI and age (p = 0.62), sex (p = 0.19), duration of surgery (p = 0.54), and overall antibiotic use (p = 0.07). Significant correlations were observed between SSI and surgical factors, including type of surgery (p < 0.0001), surgery classification (p < 0.0001), and wound classification (p = 0.004). The highest incidence of SSI was noted in emergency procedures (7.7%) and open wounds (5.1%). A significant correlation was also found between the type of prophylactic antibiotic used and SSI occurrence (p = 0.04). SSI was not significantly associated with prolonged hospital stay (p = 0.12) or increased admissions (p = 0.71). Conclusion: The present study indicates that SSI is an uncommon but clinically relevant complication in upper limb surgeries, with an overall incidence of 5%. Emergency procedures and open wounds were strongly associated with infection risk, while patient related factors such as age and sex, as well as surgical duration, were not significant predictors. Although SSI was not linked to prolonged hospital stay or increased admissions in this cohort, the type of prophylactic antibiotic demonstrated a significant association with infection occurrence. Keywords: Surgical site infection, upper limb surgery, orthopedic infections, incidence, risk factors, wound classification, prophylactic antibiotics.
Related
- Incidence and Progression of Acute Kidney Injury Following Head and Neck Surgeries for COVID-19-Associated Mucormycosis: A Prospective Observational Study
- Determinants of extended inpatient care in odontogenic cervicofacial infections: a retrospective observational study.
- Seroprevalence and determinants of transfusion transmissible infections among blood donors at a municipality in Ghana: a three-year retrospective study
- Infections Following Skin Graft Surgery in Australia: Incidence, Graft Type and Anatomical Site Associations and Microbiology
- Incidence and predictors of urinary tract infections after sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor initiation in older adults hospitalized for heart failure
BibTeX
@article{akel2026incidence,
title = {{Incidence and Determinants of Surgical Site Infections in Upper Limb Surgeries: A Multicentric retrospective cohort Study from Tertiary Referral Hospitals in Jordan}},
author = {Alaa Akel and Abdallah Daseh and Eyad Bin Tareef and Yousef Al-shamaileh and Fares Al-Halasa and Amr Za’al Abuqudiri and Waseem Halawani and Aws Abu-Nar and Mohammad khaled Abu-Nawwas and Emad Sami Al-Saqqa and Aoun Abu-Hazeem and Mohammad Abu-Jeyyab},
journal = {Orthopedic Reviews},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.52965/001c.172696},
url = {https://doi.org/10.52965/001c.172696},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Incidence and Determinants of Surgical Site Infections in Upper Limb Surgeries: A Multicentric retrospective cohort Study from Tertiary Referral Hospitals in Jordan
AU - Alaa Akel
AU - Abdallah Daseh
AU - Eyad Bin Tareef
AU - Yousef Al-shamaileh
AU - Fares Al-Halasa
AU - Amr Za’al Abuqudiri
AU - Waseem Halawani
AU - Aws Abu-Nar
AU - Mohammad khaled Abu-Nawwas
AU - Emad Sami Al-Saqqa
AU - Aoun Abu-Hazeem
AU - Mohammad Abu-Jeyyab
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Orthopedic Reviews
DO - 10.52965/001c.172696
UR - https://doi.org/10.52965/001c.172696
AB - Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a major cause of complications during orthopedic surgeries. These infections increase the morbidity of patients. Although many studies have been conducted on SSI complications during lower limb surgeries, there is limited information on upper limb surgeries. Therefore, this paper sought to assess the incidence of SSI complications during upper limb surgeries and identify the associated risk factors. In addition, the impact of SSI complications was also assessed. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at a tertiary hospital from January 2024 to December 2025. In total, 546 patients who underwent upper limb surgeries were recruited into the study. Data was extracted from patients' medical records and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics software. SSI complications were defined as superficial or deep wound infections. Descriptive, bivariate, and stratified incidence analyses of the data was conducted. In addition, Chi-square and independent t-tests were used to test the associations at a significance level of 0.05. Results: The total incidence of SSI was 5% (n = 28). No significant correlation was noted between SSI and age (p = 0.62), sex (p = 0.19), duration of surgery (p = 0.54), and overall antibiotic use (p = 0.07). Significant correlations were observed between SSI and surgical factors, including type of surgery (p < 0.0001), surgery classification (p < 0.0001), and wound classification (p = 0.004). The highest incidence of SSI was noted in emergency procedures (7.7%) and open wounds (5.1%). A significant correlation was also found between the type of prophylactic antibiotic used and SSI occurrence (p = 0.04). SSI was not significantly associated with prolonged hospital stay (p = 0.12) or increased admissions (p = 0.71). Conclusion: The present study indicates that SSI is an uncommon but clinically relevant complication in upper limb surgeries, with an overall incidence of 5%. Emergency procedures and open wounds were strongly associated with infection risk, while patient related factors such as age and sex, as well as surgical duration, were not significant predictors. Although SSI was not linked to prolonged hospital stay or increased admissions in this cohort, the type of prophylactic antibiotic demonstrated a significant association with infection occurrence. Keywords: Surgical site infection, upper limb surgery, orthopedic infections, incidence, risk factors, wound classification, prophylactic antibiotics.
SN - 2035-8237
SN - 2035-8164
ER -