RT Book, Section
A1 Mattei, Peter
A2 Shah, Samir S.
SR Print(0)
ID 6927232
T1 Chapter 69. Surgical Site Infections
T2 Pediatric Practice: Infectious Disease
YR 2009
FD 2009
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-148924-9
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6927232
RD 2024/04/18
AB Surgical  site  infections  (SSI)  are  infections  that  occur  in  tissues  or  organs  that  a  surgeon  has  incised  or  come  into  contact  with  during  the  course  of  a  surgical  procedure  or  operation.  Despite  advances  in  the  understanding  of  risk  factors,  pathogenesis,  and  prophylaxis,  SSI  are  still  a  significant  source  of  morbidity  for  children  who  undergo  operative  procedures.  Estimated  to  occur  in  2–6%  of  children  who  undergo  an  operation,  SSI  in  some  studies  account  for  up  to  early  one  quarter  of  all  nosocomial  infections  in  this  age  group.1–7  For  the  individual,  an  SSI  can  mean  prolongation  of  the  hospital  stay,  additional  surgical  interventions,  the  risk  of  further  complications  and,  most  importantly,  unnecessary  pain  and  anxiety.  For  society,  the  treatment  of  these  largely  preventable  complications  substantially  increases  the  overall  cost  of  health  care,  as  the  cost  of  treatment  for  each  patient  with  an  SSI  increases  by  an  average  of  approximately  36%.8