To understand the risk factors of hospital surgical site infection (SSI) in gastrointestinal surgery and the economic losses caused by it, and to provide a basis for medical institutions to make decisions.

We investigated the data of 335 patients undergoing gastric, colon and rectal surgery from January to May 2018 in a hospital, and to conduct a retrospective case-control study. Patients who developed SSI (SSI group) were compared with those who underwent the same procedure but did not have SSI (control group) according to the pairing conditions. The risk factors for SSI and the total cost of hospitalization, various detailed expenses, and hospitalization time were analyzed.

The incidence of SSI in 335 patients undergoing gastric, colon, and rectal surgery was 3.88% (13/335). The age at admission, the number of underlying diseases, the time of surgery, preoperative complications with other infections, and urinary catheterization were the risk factors for SSI. The total hospitalization cost of patients in the SSI group was higher than that of the control group [(20 912.8±2 772.8) and (10 798.3±2 393.4)], which was 1.94 times of the total cost of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).

The age of the patient, the number of underlying diseases, the operation time, preoperative complications with other infections, and urinary catheterization are risk factors for SSI. In addition, SSI prolongs the hospitalization days, increases medical expenses, and affects economic income and medical quality.