Computer assisted analysis of wound infection in neurosurgery.

The effect of 10 variables on the development of postoperative infection in 536 clean elective neurosurgery patients was calculated using correlational, regression and discriminant analyses. The time of shaving the operation site, type of theatre ventilation and duration of operation were found to have a highly significant effect on the infection rate. The influence of season and age of patient was not evident on simple analysis, but both were found to be significant factors using regression analysis. The sex of patient, carriage of Staphylococcus aureus, airborne bacterial count, presence of bacteria in the wound and the use of prophylactic antibiotics did not have a significant effect on infection rates.