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Basics of Surgical-Site Infection Surveillance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Marie-Claude Roy  and
Trish M. Perl
Marie-Claude Roy
Affiliation:
Hôpital de L'Enfant-Jésus, Québec City, Québec, Canada
Trish M. Perl
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
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Abstract

Surgical-site infections, the third most common class of nosocomial infections, cause substantial morbidity and mortality and increase hospital costs. Surveillance programs can lead to reductions in surgical-site infection rates of 35% to 50%. Herein, we will discuss the practical aspects of implementing a hospital-based surveillance program for surgical-site infections. We will review surveillance methods, patient populations that should be screened, and interventions that could reduce infection rates.

Type
Practical Healthcare Epidemiology
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 18 , Issue 9 , September 1997 , pp. 659 - 668
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1997

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