The effect of body mass index on the risk of surgical site infection

Methods We included data on SSIs collected in 2012 and 2013 in the Dutch surveillance network PREZIES. A selection of frequently performed surgical procedures across different specialisms was made: laparoscopic cholecystectomy, open colectomy, laparoscopic colectomy, abdominal hysterectomy, Caesarean section, mastectomy, lumpectomy, total hip prosthesis and total knee prosthesis. Patients were stratified into five BMI categories: underweight (BMI 40 kg/m). Multilevel log binomial regression analyses were performed to assess the effect of BMI on the risk of SSIs while accounting for clustering within hospitals.