Clinical and economic burden of surgical site infections in inpatient care in Germany: A retrospective, cross-sectional analysis from 79 hospitals.

Background: Surgical site infections (SSI) present a substantial burden to patients and healthcare systems. This study aimed to elucidate the prevalence of SSIs in German hospitals and to quantify their clinical and economic burden based on German hospital reimbursement data (G-DRG).

Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study used a 2010-2016 G-DRG dataset to determine the prevalence of SSIs in hospital, using ICD-10-GM codes, after surgical procedures.