Infection control in the operating room.
Surgical site infections (SSIs) occur in 160,000 to 300,000 patients per year, at a rate of 2% to 5%. SSIs increase postoperative hospitalization stay and the likelihood of postoperative mortality by a factor of 2- to 11-fold. The estimated financial impact of SSIs on the health care system ranges from $3.5 to $45.0 billion annually. Anesthesia providers have the potential to increase the patient's risk for developing an SSI. The use of antibiotics, attention to patient normothermia, and sound hand hygiene have been shown to decrease the rate of postoperative SSI.
Department of Anesthesiology, Yale-New Haven Hospital School of Nurse Anesthesia, Yale University, Yale Medical Group/Yale-New Haven Hospital - SRC, 1450 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. Electronic address: marianne.cosgrove@yale.edu.
Marianne S
MS
Cosgrove
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D009873:Operating Rooms; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
Anesthesia provider; Hand hygiene; Infection control; Operating room; Surgical site infection (SSI)