Preoperative and postoperative complete blood cell counts and prediction of surgical site infection after cesarean delivery: a retrospective case-control study.

Background: Cesarean delivery (CD) is the most frequently performed surgery. Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication after CD.

Purpose: To evaluate the role of complete blood count parameters in predicting the development of SSI after CD.

Methods: Patients who were hospitalized because of SSI after CD were included in the SSI group (n = 48). A control group (n = 45) was formed with healthy postpartum women who had also undergone CD. Preoperative and postoperative hemoglobin (Hb), white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, platelet count (PLT), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), mean platelet volume (MPV), and platelet-large cell ratio (P-LCR) were recorded.

Results: WBC, neutrophil count, and NLR levels increased while Hb, PLT, and lymphocyte count levels decreased after CD in both the SSI and control groups. PLR increased after CD in the SSI group but remained stable in the control group. However, the difference in PLR could not predict SSI after CD.

Conclusion: Complete blood count parameters were not useful to predict SSI after CD. Larger prospective studies are needed.