A focus on preoperative bathing or skin decolonisation for preventing surgical wound infections

What is it about?

This publication discusses an important element of a surgical bundle or combination of interventions that aim to reduce the incidences of avoidable surgical site or wound infections after surgery - washing the whole body with soap and water or an antiseptic agent. It presents a case on whether all surgical patients should wash with an antiseptic agent before surgery and whether this is affordable in many healthcare settings. The publication explores various literature related to the subject. New proposals that are being presented by a newly formed global Surgical Site Infection Prevention (SSIP) group aim to get more surgical patient safety action happening on the ground. These proposals have been widely accepted globally.

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Photo by everdrop GmbH on Unsplash

Photo by everdrop GmbH on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Preoperative washing or bathing is an important first step in getting it right first time for surgical patients because more of the bacteria or microorganisms that cause surgical site or wound infections are from the patient's own flora. This important step must be combined with other surgical patient safety interventions to get the best outcomes of surgical patients. Patients can develop avoidable surgical site or wound infections after surgery if the recommended practices are not thoroughly followed through. It is therefore important for all organisations to ensure that they have the resources to monitor compliance and support respective implementation of surgical patient safety strategies. As uptake of some of the recommendations has been reported to be poor in some healthcare settings, the newly formed global surgical site infection prevention group (SSIP) has put forward proposals to help organisations adhere more or comply more via dedicated and delegated champion roles.

Perspectives