New WHO recommendations on intraoperative and postoperative measures for surgical site infection prevention: an evidence-based global perspective

Benedetta Allegranzi; Bassim Zayed; Peter Bischoff; N Zeynep Kubilay; Stijn de Jonge; Fleur de Vries; Stacey M Gomes; Sarah Gans; Elon D Wallert; Xiuwen Wu; Mohamed Abbas; Marja A Boermeester; E Patchen Dellinger; Matthias Egger; Petra Gastmeier; Xavier Guirao; Jianan Ren; Didier Pittet; Joseph S Solomkin; WHO Guidelines Development Group

doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30402-9

New WHO recommendations on intraoperative and postoperative measures for surgical site infection prevention: an evidence-based global perspective

Lancet Infect Dis. 2016 Dec;16(12):e288-e303. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30402-9. Epub 2016 Nov 2.

Authors

Benedetta Allegranzi¹, Bassim Zayed², Peter Bischoff³, N Zeynep Kubilay², Stijn de Jonge⁴, Fleur de Vries⁴, Stacey M Gomes⁵, Sarah Gans⁴, Elon D Wallert⁴, Xiuwen Wu⁶, Mohamed Abbas⁷, Marja A Boermeester⁴, E Patchen Dellinger⁸, Matthias Egger⁹, Petra Gastmeier³, Xavier Guirao¹⁰, Jianan Ren⁶, Didier Pittet¹¹, Joseph S Solomkin¹²; WHO Guidelines Development Group

Affiliations

¹ Infection Prevention and Control Global Unit, Service Delivery and Safety, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Infection Prevention and Control Global Unit, Service Delivery and Safety, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland.
³ Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine, Charité-University Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
⁴ Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
⁵ OASIS Global, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
⁶ Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
⁷ Infection Control Programme, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁸ Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁹ Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Barcelona, Spain.
¹¹ Infection Control Programme, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland; WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety (Infection Control and Improving Practices), University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹² OASIS Global, Cincinnati, OH, USA; University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

PMID: 27816414
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30402-9

Abstract

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the most common health-care-associated infections in developing countries, but they also represent a substantial epidemiological burden in high-income countries. The prevention of these infections is complex and requires the integration of a range of preventive measures before, during, and after surgery. No international guidelines are available and inconsistencies in the interpretation of evidence and recommendations in national guidelines have been identified. Considering the prevention of SSIs as a priority for patient safety, WHO has developed evidence-based and expert consensus-based recommendations on the basis of an extensive list of preventive measures. We present in this Review 16 recommendations specific to the intraoperative and postoperative periods. The WHO recommendations were developed with a global perspective and they take into account the balance between benefits and harms, the evidence quality level, cost and resource use implications, and patient values and preferences.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Consensus
Evidence-Based Medicine*
Global Health
Humans
Infection Control / methods
Infection Control / standards
Intraoperative Care*
Postoperative Care*
Practice Guidelines as Topic*
Risk Factors
Surgical Wound Infection / prevention & control*
World Health Organization*