A study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection examined the risk of developing bloodstream infections following surgery.
Researchers studied bloodstream infections identified at a hospital in Finland from 2009 to 2014. Of 711 bloodstream infections identified, 49 percent were primary and 51 percent were secondary.
Researchers found the rate of bloodstream infections was highest after cardiovascular surgery at 8.7 per 1000 procedures, and it was lowest after gynecologic surgery at 1 per 1000 procedures.
They also found surgical site infections were the most frequent source of secondary bloodstream infections. Forty-five percent of primary bloodstream infections were central-line-associated.