Investigation of the presence of bacteria on swab samples taken from aseptic surgical site in different surgery duration at veterinary medicine teaching hospital universiti malaysia kelantan

Endogenous and exogenous sources can cause bacterial contamination during surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of bacteria on skin swab samples taken from surgical sites of cat species in different surgery duration associated with various risk factors at Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (HPVUMK). A total of 105 skin swabs samples were collected from selected 32 felines that are involved in reproductive, abdominal and orthopedic surgery at HPVUMK. The sample was taken before skin preparation with antiseptic, after skin preparation, and every 30 minutes of surgery until the surgery finished. Bacteria culture and isolation was performed and statistical analysis data was analysed using Pearson Chi Square test or Fisher’s exact test by using SPSS 27 statistical software. From the bacteria culture, the sample taken before skin preparation procedure showed nine cats (28%) without any growth, while 23 cats (72%) with different numbers of colony growth where Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus spp., Corynebacterium spp., and Bacillus spp. were isolated and overall, only one sample had bacteria growth during the surgery which is at 1 hour 30 minutes of the surgery procedure. Statistical analysis data revealed the presence of bacteria colonies on the skin of a cat before undergoing skin preparation with antiseptic solution was significantly associated (P<0.05) with the management of the cat whether they were kept indoor, outdoor or semi-roamer and the result obtained from this study showed bacteria on the skin before skin preparation can be successfully be eliminated after antiseptic was applied. Besides, there is also data obtained from this study that revealed the presence of bacterial colonies during surgery was significantly associated (P<0.05) with the type of surgical procedure and the total number of people in the operation room at one time. Thus, the findings of this study prove that an aseptic technique practiced at HPVUMK was effective in eliminating the bacteria colony on the surgical site that has been prepared aseptically as the bacteria was not be able to be isolated in almost all of the surgical site after scrubbing with antiseptic and as only one out of 32 procedures got contaminated by the bacteria during the surgical procedure at HPVUMK, we can conclude that even in a proper practice of aseptic technique throughout the surgery procedure, however the chances for contamination to occur on the surgical site that has been prepared aseptically is still present.
Keywords: Bacteria, feline, skin swab, aseptic, surgical site.