Obesity and Prolonged Hospitalization as Independent Predictors of Postoperative Infections After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Intermediate to High-Risk Patients: Insights from a Single-Center Study

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is one of the most common surgical procedures, contributing to improved long-term survival and quality of life for patients with coronary artery disease. However, surgical site infections (SSIs) remain a serious complication, increasing mortality, morbidity, and hospital length of stay. Background/Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the incidence of infections in patients at intermediate to high-risk of infection undergoing CABG and to identify the factors contributing to their development. Methods: The study included 51 patients (39 men, 12 women, mean age 67.2 ± 8 years) who underwent CABG via median sternotomy. Patients were preoperatively stratified for SSI risk using the Brompton Harefield Infection Score (BHIS), and only those classified as intermediate or high risk were included. The occurrence and severity of SSIs were evaluated postoperatively using the ASEPSIS scoring system. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0. Results: Infections were observed in 17 patients (33.3%). The occurrence of SSIs was positively associated with hospital length of stay (ρ = 0.512, p < 0.001) and obesity (f = 0.348, p = 0.013). Age, gender, smoking, diabetes mellitus, and ejection fraction were not statistically significantly associated with the occurrence of infection. Conclusions: Obesity and prolonged hospital stay emerged as significant risk factors for SSIs in patients after CABG. The high incidence of SSIs highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions in patients at increased risk. Early identification and management of those patients may help reduce infection rates, improving postoperative outcomes and patient quality of life. The small sample size of this study, the data collection from a single cardiothoracic surgery center, and the limited number of examined variables are limitations that indicate the need for further research.