Wood, as a contact surface, has been used for centuries but is usually questioned because of its porosity and organic composition. It has natural antimicrobial properties and, hygienically, can stand the comparison with other materials such as plastic, glass and steel. In this review, we focused on potential microbe-inhibiting properties of wooden surfaces being used in hygienically important places like health institutes and food industries. This article addresses the questionable properties of untreated wood like hygroscopicity, porosity, roughness and chemical composition, and their relation to the hygienic and antimicrobial nature of this material. The other factors linked to the hygienic properties of wood, such as age, species and type of wood, have also been discussed. Our analysis of literature will create better understanding for acceptance of wood as a safety renewable resource. It also provides an outline for future research considering wood material in critical healthcare or food industries.

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its emergence as a major community pathogen nationally. 8 The concurrent increase in cases of SSIs caused by MSSA, however, was unexpected. This finding suggests that despite the increase in MRSA, MSSA still plays a large role in causing SSIs. Therefore, preoperative screening for Staphylococcus spp., not just MRSA, may help guide preoperative antibiotic selection, skin preparation, and postoperative wound care to minimize the risk of infection with either of these organisms. 9 The predominance of gram-negative organisms in polymicrobial SSIs suggests that external contamination of the wound, (eg, with fecal matter) plays a major role in polymicrobial SSI pathogenesis. This finding highlights the ongoing importance of postoperative wound management and the need for protective barriers to prevent contamination of the wound. 9 Our conclusions are limited by our inability to account for potential correlations between patient-level characteristics, such as comorbidities, with particular organisms causing SSIs. 10 Another limitation was our inability to assess the direct influence of specific interventions that occurred in our medical center over the study period. 3 Further study is planned to examine such interactions. Our study findings indicate that among pediatric patients, skin and bowel flora play a significant role in SSIs. Future interventions to target aspects such as preoperative screening and management of MSSA and MRSA colonization and postoperative wound management to prevent fecal contamination may reduce pediatric SSIs. Further study is planned to assess the effect of patient and procedure factors as well as interventions on both the incidence of and the type of pathogens associated with SSIs. acknowledgments We would like to thank Lou Fitzner for assistance with extraction of SSI data. Financial support: This study was conducted as part of institutional quality improvement efforts. No external funding was used.

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