Impact of surgical site infection after colorectal surgery on hospital stay and medical expenditure in Japan

To clarify the impact of surgical site infection (SSI) after colorectal surgery on the length of hospital stay and medical expenditure in Japan. This was a multi-center, retrospective-matched case-control study. The total number of patients enrolled was 334 (167 case/control pairs). The average hospital stay after surgery was prolonged by 17.8 days (95% CI 11.9-23.5) and the average medical cost after surgery was increased by $5,938 (95% CI 3,610-8,367) in the SSI group versus the non-SSI group. Hospital charges comprised the largest among all cost categories and accounted for 53% of the additional cost. The hospital stay and medical costs both increased proportionately to the depth of the SSI, from 4.4 days and $608 for superficial incisional SSI, to 39.2 days and $14,448 for organ/space SSI. SSI caused by MRSA prolonged the hospital stay by 19.3 days and incurred an additional cost of $7,015. SSI clearly prolonged the hospital stay and increased medical costs. The numerical values revealed by this study reinforce the medical-economic importance of instigating preventive measures against SSI.