Preventing surgical site infections.
In less enlightened times, the risk and impact of infection made surgical intervention virtually a last resort option. If the patient survived the operation, infection and death usually followed. In the late 19th century, Joseph Lister applied Pasteur's theories to surgical sterility, and the breakthrough in our understanding of infection prevention and control in the surgical setting had begun.
D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D019990:Perioperative Care; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology