Comparison of postoperative infection after emergency inguinal hernia surgery with enterectomy between mesh repair and non-mesh repair: a national database analysis

Purpose Synthetic non-absorbable mesh is used for elective inguinal hernia repair but is not commonly used for incarcerated or strangulated inguinal hernia requiring enterectomy to reduce the risk of surgical-site infection. This study aimed to evaluate the safety of synthetic non-absorbable mesh repair in patients with incarcerated or strangulated inguinal hernia requiring enterectomy versus non-mesh repair. Methods We analyzed patients with incarcerated or strangulated inguinal hernia with enterectomy from April 2012 to March 2017 using a nationwide inpatient database in Japan. We conducted overlap propensity score-weighted analyses to compare surgical-site infection (SSI), duration of anesthesia, antibiotic use at > 3 days after surgery, postoperative hospital stay, and 30 day readmission. Two sensitivity analyses were performed. First, we compared the proportions of patients requiring wound culture at ≥ 3 days after surgery. Second, we performed overlap propensity score-weighted logistic regression analyses for surgical-site infection. Results We identified 668 eligible patients, comprising 223 patients with mesh repair and 445 with non-mesh repair. Overlap propensity score-weighted analyses showed no significant differences between the mesh repair and non-mesh repair groups for SSI (2.5 vs. 2.8%, P = 0.79). Secondary outcomes did not differ significantly between the groups. Proportion of wound culture at ≥ 3 days after surgery was similar in the two groups (11.1 vs. 14.6%, P = 0.18). Logistic regression analysis showed no significant association between mesh repair and SSI (odds ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.34–2.57). Conclusion Synthetic non-absorbable mesh use may be safe for incarcerated or strangulated inguinal hernia requiring enterectomy.