Surgical Site Infection among Women Post Cesarean Section: An Integrative Review
Abstract: Surgical site
infection (SSI) in cesarean section (CS) is a major cause of prolonged hospital
stay and resource consumption, and causes morbidity and mortality for the
mother and the baby.
Purpose: This literature review aimed to assess and identify risk
factors, interventions, and prevention strategies of SSI for women post CS
especially the obese women.
Methods: An integrative literature review was conducted by employing the
databases of PubMed, ProQuest, Science Direct, Wiley online library, and Google
scholar from 1999 to 2015. This review identified the studies conducted either
in women post-CS or obese women post CS.
Results: A total of 58 articles were found, and 14 articles met the
criteria. The risk factors of CS-SSI were classified into extrinsic and
intrinsic factors. The intrinsic factors include limited mobility, poor
nutrition, and comorbidity (diabetes) while the extrinsic factors include
surgical technique, skin closure methods, prophylactic antibiotic, and the use
of drains. Poor nutrition, diabetes, and limited mobility were the common
factors found in obese women undergoing CS. Maintaining nutritional status and
controlling blood glucose were proposed to prevent CS-SSI among obese women
post-CS.
Conclusions: Nurses should have adequate knowledge about the risk factors
of CS-SSI to assess the risk factors of CS-SSI especially in obese women. The
intervention of CS-SSI might need a bundle of interventions which consist of
pre-operative and post-operative prevention strategies.
Keywords: Obese women; wound
infection; surgical site infection; cesarean section
Author: Shinta Novelia, Wipa
Sae Sia, Praneed Songwathana
Journal Code: jpkeperawatangg170007
