Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Operative wound classification: an inaccurate measure of pediatric surgical morbidity.

BACKGROUND: Wound classification has catapulted to the forefront of surgical literature and quality care discussions. However, it has not been validated in laparoscopy or children. We analyzed pediatric infection rates based on wound classification and reviewed the most common noninfectious complications which could be a more appropriate measure for quality assessment.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of 800 patients from 2011 to 2014 undergoing common procedures at a tertiary pediatric hospital. Demographics, procedure, wound classification and complications were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS: Infection rates were in the expected low range for clean procedures. However, 5% of pyloromyotomy patients required readmission and 10% of circumcision patients developed penile adhesions; 2% required reoperation. Ostomy reversal, a clean contaminated case, had 17% wound infections, whereas acute appendicitis, a contaminated case had only a 4% infection rate. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (clean-contaminated or contaminated depending on inflammation) had 2% postoperative infections. Perforated appendicitis, a dirty procedure had an 18% infection rate, below the expected >27% for dirty cases in adults.

CONCLUSIONS: Current wound classifications do not accurately approximate the risk of surgical site infections in children, particularly for laparoscopic procedures. It would be more appropriate to grade hospitals based on disease and procedure specific complications.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app