Antibiotic prophylaxis in a global surgical context

Abstract

Surgical site infection (SSI) is a global problem, and has been highlighted as the foremost research priority for perioperative researchers across high-, middle- and low-income settings. Depending on the degree of intraoperative contamination, baseline patient risk and other infection control measures, as many as 50% of patients can suffer surgical wound infections within the 30-days after an operation. As a result, SSI has been the focus of several recent global initiatives including randomised controlled trials of health technologies, quality improvement bundle studies, and prospective cohort studies.