Frequency and Risk Factors of Wound Dehiscence in Patients Undergoing Emergency Midline Laparotomy at Tertiary Care Hospital, Karachi
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70749/ijbr.v3i6.3064Keywords:
Wound Dehiscence; Emergency Laparotomy; Midline Incision; Postoperative Complications; Surgical Site Infection; Risk Factors; Abdominal Surgery; ASA Classification.Abstract
Background: Wound dehiscence remains a significant postoperative challenge, particularly following emergency abdominal surgery, where time for preoperative optimization is limited. This study assessed the frequency of wound dehiscence and explored potential contributing factors in patients undergoing emergency midline laparotomy at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study over a period of three month from 1st March 2025 to 31 May 2025 in the Department of Surgery at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi, using non-probability consecutive sampling. We enrolled 175 patients aged 30 to 80 years who underwent emergency midline laparotomy and had an ASA physical status of I or II. We excluded patients with major comorbidities, malignancies, re-operations, or gynecological procedures. We recorded demographic, clinical, and intraoperative variables and assessed the occurrence of wound dehiscence. Associations between these variables and wound dehiscence were analyzed using chi-square tests. Results: Among 175 patients, 10 (5.7%) developed wound dehiscence. We found no statistically significant association between wound dehiscence and any of the measured variables, including age, sex, ASA classification, duration of surgery, anemia, smoking status, obesity, wound infection, or postoperative ileus (p > 0.05 across all variables). Conclusion: Wound dehiscence occurred in a small proportion of patients undergoing emergency midline laparotomy, and no single demographic or perioperative factor appeared to predict its occurrence. These findings reinforce the multifactorial nature of wound dehiscence and highlight the need for comprehensive perioperative management. Larger prospective studies incorporating nutritional and biochemical markers may help identify at-risk patients more accurately and inform preventive strategies.
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