Perioperative blood glucose levels and surgical site infections in patient undergoing colorectal cancer surgery: a feasibility study

This study was carried out in the framework of a regional surveillance program of surgical site infections, to assess the feasibility of performing a longitudinal study to evaluate possible correlations between perioperative blood glucose levels and surgical site infections in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. A convenience sample of patients aged 18 years and above, admitted to the University Hospital of Udine (Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Italy) from 1 January to 31 March 2011, were invited to participate in the study. Patients admitted for recanalization surgery for obstructing carcinomas were excluded. Twenty-five patients participated in the study, 20% (n=5) of whom had a surgical site infection. No correlation was found between blood glucose levels and surgical site infections. The costs of performing a study of this kind would be mainly related to the number of persons involved in data collection and the estimated time required is 12 to 18 months. For the future conduct of the study, it is hoped that simpler operational methods may be agreed upon within the healthcare facility.