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Perioperative Strategies for Surgical Site Infection Prevention
Author(s) -
Bashaw Marie A.,
Keister Kathy J.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
aorn journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1878-0369
pISSN - 0001-2092
DOI - 10.1002/aorn.12451
Subject(s) - perioperative , surgical site infection , perioperative nursing , medicine , surgical procedures , intensive care medicine , surgery
Surgical site infections ( SSI s) are some of the most common and costly health care–associated infections. Although the rate of SSI s has declined significantly in the past decade, patient safety remains at risk. Perioperative nurses employ a variety of evidence‐based best practices to prevent SSI s and facilitate a safe surgical experience for their patients, including hand hygiene, preoperative patient skin antisepsis, and antimicrobial irrigation. This article explores the causes of SSI s, such as modifiable and nonmodifiable patient factors and preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative procedural factors, and discusses some of the specific recommended strategies related to the prevention of SSI s that perioperative nurses can initiate in their workplace.