Abstract:
Back ground: Wound infection is a common complication of caesarean section (CS) and may lead to
maternal sepsis, increased health costs, related to prolonged hospital stay, and negatively influences the
outcome of the patient. Even though the extent of the problem is expected to be high in Ethiopia, it was
not studied well.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess factors associated with post cesarean section
surgical site infection among mothers who underwent cesarean section in Mizan Tepi university teaching
hospital, south west Ethiopia,2017.
Methods: Institution based descriptive, quantitative cross sectional study was conducted from March
10/2017 to March 30/2017 in Mizan Tepi university teaching hospitalital. A total of 325 records of
mothers were reviewed based on CDC criteria for SSI after selecting the cards by simple random (lottery)
methods. Data were entered in epidata version 3.1and analyzed with SPSS version 20. Bivarate and
multivariable logistic regression analysis was done to identify independent factors of surgical site
infection.
Result; overall post cesarean section surgical site infection rate was 12.9%. Rupture of membrane<24
hours (AOR= 0.35, 95%CI: 0.129, 0.897), pre-op heamatocrite count of <30% (AOR=2.598, 95%CI:
1.125, 6.003) and post-op admission for less than 8 days (AOR= 0. 109, 95%CI: 0.043,0 .276) were
significant independent factors for post cesarean section surgical site infection.
Conclusion and recommendation : Post cesarean section surgical site infection was high in Mizan Tepi
University teaching hospital and Rupture of membrane<24 hours ,pre-op heamatocrite count of <30%
and post-op admission for less than 8 days were significant factors for post cesarean section surgical
site infection. Effort should be made to prevent prolonged rupture of membrane by awareness creation
and accessing maternal waiting rooms. Accessing and proper counseling on the purpose and appropriate
utilization of iron folate at ANC setting should be stressed. Furthermore, standard infection prevention
techniques and excellent surgical techniques would reduce surgical site infections harbored by prolonged
admission
