General

Core Measures

In addition to recommendations targeted for specific groups of people and areas, there are general guidelines and established procedures for the prevention of surgical site infections that have an overarching character.

As it is our mission to support SSI prevention as comprehensive as possible, you will find here an overview of essential general measures.

Guideline-compliant. Compact. Illustrative. Expanded with 200 years of HARTMANNs expertise.

Illustration of a hand interacting with numbered targets, from 1 to 5

Hand Hygiene

The specifications for hand hygiene include HOW (e.g. skin care, technique, fluids), but also WHEN (e.g. 5 moments), HOW OFTEN and WHO.

Get informed here…

Perioperative Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis (SAP)

A significant influence of a perioperative parenteral antibiotic prophylaxis is particularly detectable for e.g.:¹

orthopaedic procedures with permanent implants
mammary surgery

Find out more about it…

Illustration of a doctor wearing surgery attire

Work attire and Personal Protective Equipment

Area clothing, masks, hair-coverings, protective goggles - the protection in the operating theatre has high priority and includes a number of measures…

… which are summarised here.

Illustration of hand antisepsis step before operating a patient.

Surgical Hand Antisepsis

Surgical hand disinfection must be performed by all those involved in the surgery before every procedure.¹

But there is more to consider!
Discover more here…

Three round illustrations showing the correct mask usage and hand sanitization

Behavior of OR team

Protecting all staff involved and the patient during the surgical procedure begins before entering the operating room – e.g. with removing jewellery and covering hair.

See what SSI prevention should start with...

Surveillance

Every surgical department or ambulatory surgical centre must participate in the surveillance of SSI.¹

Find this and other aspects here…

Structural Conditions

In addition to adequate facility, what else is critical in terms of structural conditions to reduce SSI?

Answers to this and other questions you find here…

Bundle Measures

For the prevention of SSI, it has proven effective to combine particularly important measures into a bundle of measures, to train on the bundle, and to monitor compliance with the bundle in the form of self-monitoring.¹

Find new ideas here to combine measures and more…

Illustration of different surgery antisepsis steps for a patient.

Preoperative Patient Skin Antisepsis

Depending on the upcoming procedure and the patient's colonisation, a patient preparation checklist includes…

… a manageable list of fixed and variable items.

Surgical Team Preparation

Do you have a standardized practice to prepare for surgical procedures?

Find guidance here.

Illustration for the basic surgery team preparation.

OR Basics

Even apparent and self-evident facts in the prevention of SSI should be regularly refreshed and communicated.

Use a compact bundle for this.

^{References:

1. NICE (2019) Surgical site infections: prevention and treatment. NICE guidelines. Published 11 April 2019. www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng125.

2. KRINKO (2018) Prävention postoperativer Wundinfektionen. Empfehlungen der Kommission für Krankenhaushygiene und Infektionsprävention
(KRINKO) beim Robert Koch-Institut. Bundesgesundheitsbl 61: 448–473.

3. WHO. Global guidelines for the prevention of surgical site infection. World Health Organization 2016.}

Measures at a Glance

Surgical site infection prevention is a task in which different sections are involved.
Find here all relevant measures and information per perspective to create your individual infection prevention bundle!
For an easier daily routine with infection prevention.