Minimising the risk of surgical site infections
Hautaniemi, Hilary; Malackaničová, Bianka (2021)
Hautaniemi, Hilary
Malackaničová, Bianka
2021
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021112922538
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021112922538
Tiivistelmä
Surgical site infections (SSI) are increasingly common among orthopaedic and trauma surgery patients. Healthcare professionals, both new graduates and those with many years of experience can benefit from refreshing their knowledge to accommodate new infection prevention techniques. Accessibility to continued education not only benefits the professional and the patient alike, but furthermore decreases the cost of increased readmissions from postopera-tive surgical site infections.
The objective of the bachelor’s thesis was to clarify and identify the most effec-tive practices through which health care professionals can aid in the risk re-duction of surgical site infections through the use of appropriate evidence-based practices.
This bachelor’s thesis was conducted as a literature review, and information was collected using databases such as CINAHL, Medline and PubMed. The articles used for the literature review were peer-reviewed academic journal arti-cles, clinical trials and case studies. The authors chose 8 articles for the final analysis, whose quality has been appraised. Based on analysis, 4 themes were identified providing an overview of the most effective practices in minimis-ing the risk of SSI. This literature review was conducted in Tampere at Tampere University of Applied Sciences.
The results reveal that there are various factors that play a role in minimising the risk of surgical site infections. The key points identified in this study in-clude benefits of smoking and alcohol cessation preoperatively, implementa-tion of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), unified guidelines and standards for wound care; therefore, optimising the modifiable risk factors.
This literature review demonstrates a starting point for further study on the safety and efficacy of routine use of NPWT in trauma and orthopaedic wounds, and the need of having standardized wound care practices which are built up-on by further professional education for healthcare providers, offered by work-places to prevent negligence, which can cause complications from SSIs. It also emphasizes the importance of addressing patient-related risk factors pre and postoperatively by providing support to the patient and offering adequate edu-cational materials.
The objective of the bachelor’s thesis was to clarify and identify the most effec-tive practices through which health care professionals can aid in the risk re-duction of surgical site infections through the use of appropriate evidence-based practices.
This bachelor’s thesis was conducted as a literature review, and information was collected using databases such as CINAHL, Medline and PubMed. The articles used for the literature review were peer-reviewed academic journal arti-cles, clinical trials and case studies. The authors chose 8 articles for the final analysis, whose quality has been appraised. Based on analysis, 4 themes were identified providing an overview of the most effective practices in minimis-ing the risk of SSI. This literature review was conducted in Tampere at Tampere University of Applied Sciences.
The results reveal that there are various factors that play a role in minimising the risk of surgical site infections. The key points identified in this study in-clude benefits of smoking and alcohol cessation preoperatively, implementa-tion of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), unified guidelines and standards for wound care; therefore, optimising the modifiable risk factors.
This literature review demonstrates a starting point for further study on the safety and efficacy of routine use of NPWT in trauma and orthopaedic wounds, and the need of having standardized wound care practices which are built up-on by further professional education for healthcare providers, offered by work-places to prevent negligence, which can cause complications from SSIs. It also emphasizes the importance of addressing patient-related risk factors pre and postoperatively by providing support to the patient and offering adequate edu-cational materials.