Surgical site infections are an all-too-common healthcare-associated infection, with an estimated 157,500 occurring in 2011 in hospitals in the U.S., according to the CDC.
The following are six studies published since January pertaining to reducing the incidence of SSIs.
1. Hot weather can increase SSI incidence by nearly 30%
A study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology links high temperatures to an increase in risk of SSI-related hospitalizations.
2. Engaging patients to prevent SSIs: 9 opportunities
Patients have an important role to play in preventing SSIs, and a report in Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control identified key roles patients can play in recommendations for SSI prevention.
3. Mandatory use of bouffant caps does not impact SSI rates, study shows
Eliminating the use of traditional surgical skull caps in favor of bouffant caps does not have an affect on the rate of SSIs, according to a study in Neurosurgery.
4. CDC issues new prevention guidelines for surgical site infections: 5 things to know
The CDC published an update to its 1999 SSI prevention guidelines in May in JAMA Surgery.
5. Study: What are the risk factors for SSIs among colon cancer patients?
A study in JAMA Surgery identified six risk factors for SSIs among colon cancer patients using a retrospective cohort study.
Preoperative decolonization with octenidine nasal ointment did not reduce SSIs among cardiac surgery patients, but it did reduce harvest site and organ/space sternal SSIs, a study in the Journal of Hospital Infection found.