Surgical site infection prevention: a survey to identify the gap between evidence and practice in University of Toronto teaching hospitals - Can J Surg. 2012 Jun 1

Blogger's Note: surgical site infections safety checklist: WHO (World Health Organization) program in patient safety

Surgical site infection prevention: a survey to identifythe gap between evidence and practice in University of Toronto teaching hospitals

 "Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the most common
complication following surgery, with reported rates
ranging from 5% to 30%.1 The attributable morbidity
and mortality is significant, with patients who experience
SSIs being 60% more likely to spend time in the
intensive care unit, 5 times more likely to be readmitted to
hospital and twice as likely to die than patients without
SSIs.2 Whereas many risk factors for the development of
SSIs are related to patient characteristics that cannot be easily
modified, there are a variety of system or hospital factors
that can be manipulated. These include improper selection
and administration of antibiotic prophylaxis, intraoperative
hypothermia and intraoperative hyperglycemia.3
Despite clear evidence and guidelines to direct SSI prevention
strategies, compliance is uniformly poor......