Sepsis At The Surgical Site: Emerging Trends, Challenges, And Management
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63682/jns.v14i17S.4669Keywords:
Sepsis, Surgical Site Infection, Hour-1 Bundle, Infection Control, Antibiotic Stewardship, Healthcare Professionals, Sepsis ManagementAbstract
Background: Sepsis at the surgical site (SSIs leading to sepsis) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in surgical patients. Effective prevention and management strategies are critical for improving patient outcomes. This study also includes an analysis of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to sepsis resulting from surgical site infections (SSIs), comparing their outcomes with non-ICU patients. This study aims to explore the emerging trends, challenges, and management practices related to surgical site sepsis.
Objective: The primary objective of this study is to investigate the factors influencing the incidence and management of sepsis at surgical sites. Specifically, the study aims to identify the challenges healthcare professionals face in preventing and managing SSIs, evaluate the effectiveness of infection control measures, and assess the role of early intervention practices like the "Hour-1 Bundle."
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, with data collected through structured questionnaires administered to healthcare professionals, including surgeons, intensivists nurses, medical officers and infection control specialists. The sample consisted of 250 healthcare workers selected using stratified random sampling from both public and private healthcare settings. The survey included Likert-scale items to capture perceptions and experiences regarding sepsis management. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods, including normality tests, Cronbach’s alpha for reliability, Spearman’s rank correlation for relationships, and regression analysis for prediction.
Results: The results indicated that sepsis at surgical sites continues to be a prevalent issue, with significant challenges in timely diagnosis and management. The study found strong correlations between the Application of the Hour-1 Bundle and
the Effectiveness of Source Control, suggesting that early intervention improves outcomes. However, Delayed Diagnosis Factors were negatively correlated with the ability to manage sepsis effectively, highlighting the importance of early recognition.
Conclusions: The study concludes that addressing delayed diagnosis, improving antibiotic stewardship, and enhancing infection control measures are essential for effective sepsis management at surgical sites. Furthermore, revising the survey instrument to improve reliability will be crucial for future research in this area.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Alverdy, J. C., Hyman, N., & Gilbert, J. (2020). Re-examining causes of surgical site infections following elective surgery in the era of asepsis. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 20(3), e38-e43.
Anestiadou, E., Stamiris, S., Ioannidis, O., Symeonidis, S., Bitsianis, S., Bougioukas, K., Karagiannis, T., Kotidis, E., Pramateftakis, M.-G., & Mantzoros, I. (2025). Comparison of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Systems and Conventional Non-Pressure Dressings on Surgical Site Infection Rate After Stoma Reversal: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(5), 1654.
Anioke, T., Fei, Y., Stuart, C. M., Colborn, K. L., Healy, G. L., Dyas, A. R., Bronsert, M. R., Henderson, W. G., & Meguid, R. A. (2025). Seasonality of Surgical Site Infection Rates Across a Broad Surgical Sample and Diverse Health System. American Journal of Infection Control.
Calderwood, M. S., Anderson, D. J., Bratzler, D. W., Dellinger, E. P., Garcia-Houchins, S., Maragakis, L. L., Nyquist, A.-C., Perkins, K. M., Preas, M. A., & Saiman, L. (2023). Strategies to prevent surgical site infections in acute-care hospitals: 2022 Update. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 44(5), 695-720.
Cano, E. J., Caflisch, K. M., Bollyky, P. L., Van Belleghem, J. D., Patel, R., Fackler, J., Brownstein, M. J., Horne, B. A., Biswas, B., & Henry, M. (2021). Phage therapy for limb-threatening prosthetic knee Klebsiella pneumoniae infection: case report and in vitro characterization of anti-biofilm activity. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 73(1), e144-e151.
Cassini, A., Allegranzi, B., Fleischmann-Struzek, C., Kortz, T., Markwart, R., Saito, H., Bonet, M., Brizuela, V., Mehrtash, H., & Tuncalp Mingard, Ö. (2020). Global Report on the epidemiology and burden on sepsis: current evidence, identifying gaps and future directions. Global Report on the epidemiology and burden on sepsis: current evidence, identifying gaps and future directions.
Cho, E., House, H., Marten, A., Feffer, M., Agel, J., Scolaro, J., Marmor, M., & Levack, A. E. (2025). Does the CDC Surgical Wound Classification adequately predict postoperative infection in lower extremity fracture surgery? OTA International, 8(1), e357.
Christie, S., McGregor, M., & Krahn, A. D. (2025). Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Infection. Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine.
Conoscenti, E., Enea, G., Deschepper, M., Huis, D., Campanella, M., Raffa, G., Ragonesi, B., Mularoni, A., Mattina, A., & Blot, S. (2025). A quality improvement program to reduce surgical site infections after cardiac surgery: A 10-year cohort study. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 87, 103926.
De Simone, B., Sartelli, M., Coccolini, F., Ball, C. G., Brambillasca, P., Chiarugi, M., Campanile, F. C., Nita, G., Corbella, D., & Leppaniemi, A. (2020). Intraoperative surgical site infection control and prevention: a position paper and future addendum to WSES intra-abdominal infections guidelines. World journal of emergency surgery, 15, 1-23.
Deusenbery, C., Wang, Y., & Shukla, A. (2021). Recent innovations in bacterial infection detection and treatment. ACS Infectious Diseases, 7(4), 695-720.
Ding, X., Tang, Q., Xu, Z., Xu, Y., Zhang, H., Zheng, D., Wang, S., Tan, Q., Maitz, J., & Maitz, P. K. (2022). Challenges and innovations in treating chronic and acute wound infections: from basic science to clinical practice. Burns & Trauma, 10, tkac014.
Feng, C., Ouyang, J., Tang, Z., Kong, N., Liu, Y., Fu, L., Ji, X., Xie, T., Farokhzad, O. C., & Tao, W. (2020). Germanene-based theranostic materials for surgical adjuvant treatment: inhibiting tumor recurrence and wound infection. Matter, 3(1), 127-144.
Gabriel, A., Gupta, S., & Orgill, D. P. (2019). Challenges and management of surgical site occurrences. Plastic and reconstructive surgery, 143(1S), 7S-10S.
Islam, N., Thalib, L., Mahmood, S., Varol, S. A., Adel, I., Aqel, A., Atashbari, F., & Cinar, O. (2025). Regional variations in incidence of surgical site infection and associated risk factors in women undergoing cesarean section: A systematic review and Meta-Analysis. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 89, 103951.
Jagdewsing, D. R., Fahmy, N. S. C., Chen, X., Keuzetien, Y. K., Silva, F. A., Kang, H., Xu, Y., Al-sharabi, A., Jagdewsing, S. A., & Jagdewsing, S. A. (2025). Postoperative Surgical Site and Secondary Infections in Colorectal Cancer Patients With a History of SARS-CoV-2: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Cureus, 17(1).
Jevon, P., Abdelrahman, A., & Pigadas, N. (2020). Management of odontogenic infections and sepsis: an update. British Dental Journal, 229(6), 363-370.
Karlsen, Ø. E., Dale, H., Furnes, O., Eriksen-Volle, H.-M., & Westberg, M. (2025). Trends of Surgical Site Infection and Periprosthetic Joint Infection after Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty in Two National Health Registers 2013-2022. Journal of Hospital Infection.
Khan, M., Jamal, M., Bangash, S. A., Ejaz, A., Mahmood, W., Afzal, F., & Ahmad, A. (2025). REVIEW OF PHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF HEALTHCARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS 2025. Insights-Journal of Health and Rehabilitation, 3(3 (Health & Allied)), 46-52.
Konstantinou, E., Pfeiffer, T., Rocca, M. S., Grandberg, C., Dias, K., & Musahl, V. (2025). Prevention and Management of Postoperative Infection After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Narrative Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(2), 336.
Liu, S., Pei, H., Wang, J., Qiao, L., & Wang, H. (2025). Study based on bibliometric analysis: potential research trends in fluid management for sepsis. Frontiers in Medicine, 11, 1492396.
Ma, J., Zhan, H., Li, W., Zhang, L., Yun, F., Wu, R., Lin, J., & Li, Y. (2021). Recent trends in therapeutic strategies for repairing endometrial tissue in intrauterine adhesion. Biomaterials research, 25(1), 40.
Martin-Loeches, I., Singer, M., & Leone, M. (2024). Sepsis: key insights, future directions, and immediate goals. A review and expert opinion. Intensive Care Medicine, 1-7.
Misha, G., Chelkeba, L., & Melaku, T. (2021). Bacterial profile and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of isolates among patients diagnosed with surgical site infection at a tertiary teaching hospital in Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study. Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials, 20, 1-10.
Patel, S. K., Hassan, S. M. A., Côté, M., Leis, B., & Yanagawa, B. (2025). Current trends and challenges in infective endocarditis. Current Opinion in Cardiology, 40(2), 75-84.
Pormohammad, A., Monych, N. K., Ghosh, S., Turner, D. L., & Turner, R. J. (2021). Nanomaterials in wound healing and infection control. Antibiotics, 10(5), 473.
Raoofi, S., Pashazadeh Kan, F., Rafiei, S., Hosseinipalangi, Z., Noorani Mejareh, Z., Khani, S., Abdollahi, B., Seyghalani Talab, F., Sanaei, M., & Zarabi, F. (2023). Global prevalence of nosocomial infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one, 18(1), e0274248.
Rickard, J., Beilman, G., Forrester, J., Sawyer, R., Stephen, A., Weiser, T. G., & Valenzuela, J. (2020). Surgical infections in low-and middle-income countries: a global assessment of the burden and management needs. Surgical infections, 21(6), 478-494.
Rosenthal, V. D., Yin, R., Jin, Z., Alkhawaja, S. A., Zuñiga-Chavarria, M. A., Salgado, E., El-Kholy, A., Moya, J. C. Z., Patil, P., & Nadimpalli, G. (2024). International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) report of healthcare-associated infections, data summary of 25 countries for 2014 to 2023, Surgical Site Infections Module. American Journal of Infection Control, 52(10), 1144-1151.
Santacroce, E., D’Angerio, M., Ciobanu, A. L., Masini, L., Lo Tartaro, D., Coloretti, I., Busani, S., Rubio, I., Meschiari, M., & Franceschini, E. (2024). Advances and challenges in sepsis management: modern tools and future directions. Cells, 13(5), 439.
Schultz, M. J., Dünser, M. W., Dondorp, A. M., Adhikari, N. K., Iyer, S., Kwizera, A., Lubell, Y., Papali, A., Pisani, L., & Riviello, E. D. (2019). Current challenges in the management of sepsis in ICUs in resource-poor settings and suggestions for the future. Sepsis management in resource-limited settings, 1-24.
Seid, M., Bayou, B., Aklilu, A., Tadesse, D., Manilal, A., Zakir, A., Kulyta, K., Kebede, T., Alodaini, H. A., & Idhayadhulla, A. (2025). Antimicrobial resistance patterns of WHO priority pathogens at general hospitals in Southern Ethiopia during the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular reference to ESKAPE-group isolates of surgical site infections. Bmc Microbiology, 25(1), 84.
Seidelman, J. L., Mantyh, C. R., & Anderson, D. J. (2023). Surgical site infection prevention: a review. Jama, 329(3), 244-252.
Seyferth, A. V., Chen, S., Ratna, A., Wang, L., & Chung, K. C. (2025). Antibiotic prophylaxis for surgical-site infections and adherence to evidence-based guidelines. Surgery, 181, 109168.
Stewart, S., Robertson, C., Pan, J., Kennedy, S., Dancer, S., Haahr, L., Manoukian, S., Mason, H., Kavanagh, K., & Cook, B. (2021). Epidemiology of healthcare-associated infection reported from a hospital-wide incidence study: considerations for infection prevention and control planning. Journal of Hospital Infection, 114, 10-22.
Uberoi, A., McCready-Vangi, A., & Grice, E. A. (2024). The wound microbiota: microbial mechanisms of impaired wound healing and infection. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 22(8), 507-521.
Urish, K. L., & Cassat, J. E. (2020). Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis: bone, bugs, and surgery. Infection and immunity, 88(7), 10.1128/iai. 00932-00919.
Yao, Y., Zhang, A., Yuan, C., Chen, X., & Liu, Y. (2021). Recent trends on burn wound care: Hydrogel dressings and scaffolds. Biomaterials Science, 9(13), 4523-4540.
Zejnullahu, V. A., Isjanovska, R., Sejfija, Z., & Zejnullahu, V. A. (2019). Surgical site infections after cesarean sections at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo: rates, microbiological profile, and risk factors. BMC Infectious Diseases, 19, 1-9.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.