oa Risk Factors For Wound Infection Following Cardiac Surgery In Qatar.

Objective: Qatar has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world (20% of the general population), with many patients having poor control. In Qatar 68% of the isolated CABG group has diabetes. We wanted to assess the risk factors involved in the development of wound infections following cardiac surgery in Qatar. Methods: All patients undergoing cardiac surgery between 1/12/2012 and 30/11/2013 were followed and all wound infections noted. Patients' pre-operative haemoglobin, HbA1C, BMI, and ethnicity were also noted. Results: 252 patients underwent cardiac surgery within the study period. There were 24 females and 228 males (90%). The age range was 15 to 74 (mean 51, mode 54, median 54). 54 (21%) developed some form of wound infection. The average (modal) pre-operative haemoglobin for the patients who developed post-operative wound infection was 13.5, and for the non-infected 15.0. The infection group had an average HbA1C of 7.8 (range 4.5 to 12.9) and the non-infection group 7.0 (range 2 to 14.8). There were no differences in BMI or the ethnic group affected. Conclusions: Although there is a high rate of wound infection in our group, the majority are superficial and in the leg. Is the haemoglobin a marker of overall poor nutrition and poor health or a specific risk factor with decreased oxygen carrying capacity leading to the development of wound infections? We also have a high rate of poorly controlled diabetes. We are now doing multivariate analysis on the data.