Evaluation of Wound Infection Rates Following Orthopedic Surgery in Dogs at Imo State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital

Postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs) following orthopedic procedures in dogs represent a clinically significant complication associated with prolonged hospitalization, implant failure, and poor patient outcomes. This study evaluates the incidence, causative organisms, and risk factors associated with SSIs following orthopedic surgery in dogs at the Imo State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, South East Nigeria, over a two-year period from April 2022 to March 2024. Seventy-six orthopedic surgical cases were prospectively monitored using standardized SSI surveillance criteria. Wound swabs were collected at defined postoperative time points and cultured for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. SSI was confirmed in 17.1% of monitored orthopedic cases. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the predominant isolates, with multidrug resistance documented in 46% of recovered strains. Significant risk factors for SSI included open fracture management, surgery duration exceeding 90 minutes, and absence of preoperative prophylactic antibiotic administration. Cases where implant removal became necessary due to deep infection were associated with substantially higher complication costs. The implementation of a standardized perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis protocol reduced SSI incidence by 34% during the latter half of the study period. These findings underscore the urgent need for antimicrobial stewardship and structured infection control protocols in veterinary surgical units at teaching hospitals across South Eastern Nigeria. Keywords: surgical site infection, orthopedic surgery, canine, Imo State, antimicrobial resistance.