OR-Team

Core Measures

Whether you are a surgeon, OR nurse, anesthesiologist, or IPC team member - you are a core element of the surgical patient pathway and responsible for different steps of SSI prevention.

For you and your whole team, we have summarized here the key measures in SSI prevention.

Guideline-compliant. Compact. Illustrative. Expanded with 200 years of HARTMANN's expertise.

Three round illustrations showing the correct mask usage and hand sanitization

Behavior of OR Team

Protecting patients begins before entering the operating room and includes aspects like removing jewellery and covering hair.

See what your SSI prevention should start with…

Illustration of a doctor wearing surgery attire

Work attire and Personal Protective Equipment

Area clothing, masks, hair-coverings, protective goggles - the protection of the OR team 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

Hands should preferably be washed 10 minutes before hand disinfection or earlier.²

Would you have known?

Due to its high importance in infection prevention, there are a number of recommendations on this...

Surgical gloves and attire

The requirements for the surgical gown depend on:¹

the duration of the operation
the amount of fluid produced
the mechanical stress

Find out more about it...

Surgical site Preparation

After preoperative antisepsis and drying of the surgical field, its surroundings are sterilely covered under aseptic conditions.¹

Is this how you handle it?

Surgical irrigation

The benefits of intraoperative antimicrobial irrigation and information on usable solutions…

…are highlighted here.

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...

Illustration of a shoulder with surgery wound covered for protection.

Surgical Wound

Aspects you will find about here:

wound closure
wound dressings
dressing changes

Learn more...

Complementary Measures

Prevention of SSI includes not only hygiene measures but also therapeutic steps, structural conditions, and corresponding measures.

HARTMANN provides comprehensive information on the recommendations of international institutions - even if they go beyond hygienic measures - to create a source for you to find everything in one place.

Illustration of a list with recommendations while applying anesthesia

Further Recommendations

Find here a discussion about parenteral antimicrobial prophylaxis, glycaemic control and normothermia.

Have a look...

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

2.}^{Kramer A, Hübner N, Below H, Heidecke CD, Assadian O (2008) Improving adherence to surgical hand preparation. J Hosp Infect 70(Suppl 1):35–43}

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.