Comparative Study of the Incidence of Port Site Infection in Disposable Ports and Reprocessed Disposable Ports in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Introduction: Port site infection (PSI) is a rare complication of laparoscopic surgery that can reduce the benefits of this minimally invasive surgery and increase postoperative complications. As a variety of disposable ports (single-use ports) and reprocessed ports are used in laparoscopic surgeries, this study was conducted to compare the incidence of PSI in disposable ports and reprocessed disposable ports in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC).

Materials and methods: In this prospective cohort study, 473 patients were studied. Two hundred fifteen and two hundred fifty eight were in the disposable port group and reprocessed disposable port group, respectively. The demographic characteristics and incidence of superficial and deep infection were evaluated using the researcher-made checklist of infection assessment standards at intervals of 3 to 5 and 5 to 14 days following LC using call and physical examination on day 14. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and statistical tests in SPSS software.

Results: The incidence of PSI, 3 to 5 and 5 to 14 days after surgery in the reprocessed disposable port group was significantly higher than that in the disposable ports group. In both groups, all PSI accrued in the epigastric port area (where the gallbladder was removed) ( P < 0.05).

Conclusion: On the basis of the results, our study suggests using disposable ports instead, and in the case of using reprocessed disposable ports in LC, upgrading of disinfection and sterilization techniques is necessary.