People
having surgery in low income countries are more likely to develop an infection
than those in wealthier nations, which may be linked to drug-resistant
bacteria, research suggests.
The
findings shed light on a link between antibiotic use and infection and highlight
an urgent need to tackle surgical infection in low income nations, scientists
say.
Infection
at the site of a surgical wound is a complication that prolongs recovery times
for patients and can be fatal. Until now, the extent of the problem in low
income countries was unknown.
To
address this, researchers looked at hospital records -- from 66 low, middle and
high income countries -- for more than 12,000 patients undergoing surgery on
the digestive system.
Patients
in low income countries were 60 per cent more likely to have an infection in
the weeks following an operation compared with high and middle income
countries.
Those
who developed a wound infection were more likely to die, although the infection
was not necessarily the cause of death. Infected patients were also found to
stay in hospital three times longer.
Drug-resistant
bacteria do not respond to antibiotics, making it hard to treat infection.
Their spread has been linked to overuse of antibiotics and is an urgent global
healthcare challenge.
See:
Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle