Surgical Site Infections

The Hidden Menace...

Based on 8.6 million surgical procedures performed in the UK each year, an
infection rate of 4.2% and treatment costs of approximately £2,100 per
infection, the total cost of surgical site infection (SSI) is estimated
to total £758 million per annum.

Keeping your patients warm helps to prevent SSIs; especially if you are not blowing hot air around the patient...

As far back as 1999, Christine Brown Mahoney, RN PhD MS (Minneapolis, Minnesota USA) published a paper with Jan Odom RN MS CPAN FAAN that stated that '...hypothermia averaging only 1.5 degrees Celsius less than normal resulted in adverse outcomes that negatively affected the quality and even the length of patient's lives.'

Further, 'Patients in whom normothermia has been maintained during the intraoperative period experience fewer adverse outcomes with a resulting decrease in costs.'

Useful Links:

www.hpa.org.uk/HPA/Topics/InfectiousDiseases/InfectionsAZ/1191942150156/

www.nice.org.uk/CG74

www.infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/tools-for-ssi-prevention.html