Prevention of surgical site infections. What is evidence-based?

Among all hospitalized patients, surgical site infections (SSI) are the thi rd most frequently hospital-acquired-infection. SSIs remain a substantial c ause of morbidity and mortality among surgical patients. This may be partia lly explained by the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens and the increased numbers of patients who are elderly and/or have a wide variety o f chronic, debilitating, or immunocompromising underlying diseases. This is why it is essential to implement SSI prevention measures. In April 1999 th e Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) presented the "Guideline for Prevention of Surgical Site infection". The recommendations represent the consensus of the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committe e (HICPAC) regarding strategies for the prevention of SSIs. Whenever possib le, the recommendations are based on data from well-designed scientific stu dies. This guideline is a major step forward and is also essential to optim ize the management of surgical patients in Germany.