Prevention of postoperative wound infections – what would be worthwhile, and what might be done?

doi:10.3396/ijic.V4i1.007.08 Postoperative wound infections or surgical site infections (SSI) have caused serious problems ever since surgery began. Without preventive efforts, at least 3 % of patients undergoing clean surgery and up to 30 % of those undergoing contaminated or dirty surgery develop SSI. 1 The economic impact of SSI is great from several aspects. The patient pays, through loss of income and through insurance payments if applicable. The hospital pays for salaries to nursing staff, doctors and ancillary staff; for disposable and reusable equipment; for drugs; for disinfection and sterilization; etc. The community pays, or cannot afford to pay, for loss of productivity and for the running of hospitals. The actual sizes of these costs are difficul