| Summary: | Objective:Surgical site infection (SSI) significantly causes maternal morbidity requiring hospitalization. This study aimed to determine the clinical and laboratory results of patients who developed SSI after cesarean section at the peak of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).Method:Sixty patients who developed SSIs after cesarean section were included in the study retrospectively. They were divided into two groups. Thirty patients recruited at the peak of COVID-19 were the “pandemic group” and thirty patients recruited in previous years were the “pre-pandemic group”. Age, parity, presence of comorbidity, emergency or elective cesarean section, use of drain in operation, postoperative hemoglobin, hematocrit and leukocyte values, presence of superficial or deep incisional infection, time from discharge to wound infections, wound growth culture, antibiotic duration, length of hospital stay, and the need for suture performed were analyzed between the two groups.Results:While superficial incisional infection was observed in 71.7% (n=43) of the patients with SSI, deep incisional infection was observed in 28.3% (n=17). It was observed that there was an increase in deep incisional infection rates and the need for suturation in SSIs during the pandemic period, but there was no significant difference (p=0.390). There was no significant difference in hemoglobin, hematocrit, and leukocyte values. However, it was observed that all patients with deep incisional infections were sutured (p<0.001).Conclusion:SSI causes prolonged hospital stays, poor delivery experience, and patient dissatisfaction. Demographic characteristics of patients and surgical factors are essential in determining the risk. This study shows that although there is an increase in the frequency of deep incisional infections during the pandemic, post-cesarean section infections are not affected by the pandemic in terms of clinical and laboratory features.
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