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

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 identifi ed. Considering the prevention of SSIs as a priority for patient safety, WHO has developed evidencebased and expert consensus-based recommendations on the basis of an extensive list of preventive measures. We present in this Review 16 recommendations specifi c to the intraoperative and postoperative periods. The WHO recommendations were developed with a global perspective and they take into account the balance between benefi ts and harms, the evidence quality level, cost and resource use implications, and patient values and preferences.