Question

All of the following are risk factors for postoperative infection after hysterectomy except:

• A. Surgery for malignancy
• B. Age > 50 yrs
• C. Urinary catheterization > 7 days
• D. Use of blood transfusion

Hint:

Malignancy surgery, prolonged catheter use, and transfusion raise infection risk; a simple age over 50 cutoff does not.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
Postoperative infection after hysterectomy (pelvic cellulitis, cuff abscess, urinary tract infection, wound infection) has a known set of risk factors. We need the option that is NOT one of them.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Established risk factors for post-hysterectomy infection include: surgery done for malignancy (longer operating time, more tissue handling, immune effects of cancer), prolonged urinary catheterization (each extra day raises the chance of ascending urinary infection), blood transfusion (transfusion itself has a mild immune suppressing effect and often marks a harder, longer surgery), obesity, diabetes, smoking, and long operating time. Age alone, especially a threshold like 50 years, is not a standard independent risk factor quoted in this list.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Surgery for malignancy: cancer surgery usually takes longer, involves wider dissection and lymph node work, and cancer itself can blunt immune defence, all of which raise infection risk. This is a genuine risk factor.
Age > 50 years: while very advanced age and frailty can add some risk in a general sense, a flat cutoff of 50 years is not one of the specific, well established risk factors quoted for post-hysterectomy infection. This is the exception.
Urinary catheterization > 7 days: a catheter left in place for more than a week is a well documented and strong risk factor for catheter associated urinary tract infection, which can then spread to become a broader postoperative infection. Genuine risk factor.
Use of blood transfusion: transfusion is linked with higher infection rates after major surgery, both because it can mildly suppress immunity and because it is a marker of a longer, more complicated procedure with more blood loss. Genuine risk factor.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Surgery for malignancy, prolonged catheterization, and blood transfusion are all established risk factors, but a simple age cutoff of 50 years is not.
\[ \boxed{\text{Age > 50 yrs}} \]