• Edda Vesteinsdottir, Magnus Gottfredsson, Asbjorn Blondal, Martin I Sigurdsson, and Sigurbergur Karason.
• Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
• Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2021 Apr 1; 65 (4): 457465457-465.

BackgroundSepsis requiring admission to intensive care (ICU) is a rare complication of elective surgery, but is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to describe the incidence and outcome of sepsis following elective surgery.MethodsThis was a retrospective, observational study where all admissions to Icelandic ICUs during calendar years 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 were screened, identifing patients with sepsis following elective surgery (ACCP/SCCM criteria). The number of elective operations performed at the largest center (Landspitali) during the study years were collected. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the incidence and outcome of patients with sepsis after elective surgery.ResultsDuring the study years, 88 patients were admitted to Icelandic ICUs with sepsis following elective surgery. Of those, 80 were operated at Landspitali, where the incidence of sepsis was 0.19% per elective procedure, highest following pancreaticoduodenectomies (14%, CI 6-25) and esophagectomies (13%, CI 4-27), but the greatest number of patients (30% (26/88)) developed sepsis after a colorectal procedure. The most common infection sources were the abdomen (65% (57/88)) and lungs/mediastinum (22% (19/88)), frequently polymicrobial (58% (36/62) of patients with cultures). The incidence of insufficient empirical antibiotics was high (50% (30/60)). The median ICU and hospital length-of-stay were 5.5 and 26 days and the 28-day and 1-year mortality rates were 16% (14/88) and 41% (36/87), respectively.ConclusionsIncidence of sepsis following elective surgery is low in Iceland but mortality is high. Initial antimicrobial therapy needs careful consideration in these hospital-acquired, often polymicrobial infections.© 2020 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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