The Impact of Surgical Site Infection on Health-related Quality of Life: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common postoperativeconcern. PURPOSE: To provide an in-depth understanding of the livedexperience and quality of life (QoL) of individuals with SSI. METHODS: Asystematic search for published studies that explored the impact of SSI onQoL among adult patients (older than 18 years) who had undergone any typeof surgery was performed in June 2020. The search included but was notlimited to MEDLINE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied HealthLiterature, and the Cochrane databases using the terms surgical siteinfection OR hospital-acquired infection OR nosocomial infection OR wound site infection OR surgical wound site infection AND Quality ofLife OR Life quality OR Health-Related Quality of Life OR Life Style OR QOL OR HRQoL OR Short-form questionnaire 36 OR Questionnaire SF36 OR SF-36. All quantitative and qualitative study designs were included; no language or date of publication restrictions were imposed. The CriticalAppraisal Skills Program Qualitative Checklist was used to assess themethodological quality of the included studies. Study author, date, setting, sample size, population, and design and type of surgery as well as QoLinstrument scores were extracted. A narrative thematic synthesis, whichcomprised the physical, psychological, social, economic, and spiritual eff ectsas well as the health care worker-patient relationship, was undertaken forqualitative studies. Outcome measures were collected and assessed using arange of established health QoL instruments and reported in terms of QoL forquantitative studies. In addition, the type of QoL instrument employed within of SSI as well as the health care worker-patient relationship. ShortForm36 was used to assess QoL in 3 of the 4 quantitative studies; thesestudies showed that there were decrements in scores of Short Form-36. CONCLUSION: Although this systematic review included heterogeneousgroups of patients who underwent diff erent surgical procedures andcompleted diff erent QoL assessment tools, patients with SSI experienced lowQoL, with limitations in physical, social, and psychological functioning. Thehealth care worker-patient relationship was predominantly perceivednegatively. Further prospective research is warranted.

Automated summary

This study investigated the impact of surgical site infection (SSI) on the quality of life among adult patients who had undergone surgery. The results showed that patients with SSI experienced low quality of life, mainly manifested as limitations in physical, social, and psychological functioning.