Infections in Surgery

Infections in surgery, commonly known as surgical site infections (SSIs), are complications that may occur after a surgical procedure. SSIs represent a serious problem leading to increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs, highlighting the need for continued efforts to improve surgical practices and reduce their incidence.

Several factors can contribute to the development of SSIs: patient-related factors (such as obesity, advanced age, diabetes, immunosuppression, pre-existing infections etc.); preoperative preparation-related factors (such as incomplete skin antisepsis or failure to administer appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis); microbial contamination (despite sterile techniques, microorganisms can infect the surgical site); surgical procedure-related factors (duration and complexity of the surgeries); postoperative care-related factors (such as inadequate wound care or infection control measures).

To prevent SSIs, healthcare facilities implement various strategies, including: optimization of patients’ conditions before surgery; preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis; strict sterile technique; postoperative wound care; surveillance and monitoring to identify and address SSIs early, preventing their spread and complications.

Despite the evidence supporting the effectiveness of best practices, many clinicians fail to implement them, and evidence-based practices that optimize both the prevention and treatment of SSIs tend to be underused, highlighting the importance of ongoing research and improvement in surgical techniques and infection control practices.

This open access book provides a practical toolkit for surgeons and intensivists to improve their daily clinical practices in order to reduce the risk of SSIs.