SSI

1. Dr. Mohammed Faraaz Khan
Second year postgraduate student
Department of microbiology
KIMS, Narketpally
Surgical site infections: Microbiological
approach and prevention

2. INTRODUCTION
• A surgical site infection (SSI) is defined as an infection that
develops at the surgical site within 30 days of surgery ( or within 90
days for some surgeries such as breast, cardiac and join surgeries
including implants).
• Most frequent healthcare associated infection (HAI) in low and
middle income countries and second most common HAI in Europe
and the USA (WHO,2011).

5. RISK ASSESSMENT OF SSI
• Risk of an SSI can be summarized as :
Dose of bacterial contamination x virulence of microbes x duration of
operation x presence of foreign body
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Resistance of patient defense
• Period of greatest risk of infection is when the wound is open (from
the time of incision to the time of wound closure.

12. PREVENTION
• Care bundles developed by the US Institute for Healthcare
Improvement are used.
• A care bundle is a selection of interventions either theorized or
individually demonstrated to provide an impact on the desired
outcome.
• A number of studies have demonstrated the benefits of SSI
prevention bundles.

18. SURVEILLANCE
• National Healthcare Safety Network provides guidelines
for the surveillance of HAIs.
• SSI rate is calculated as number of SSIs x100 divided by
number of surgeries done.