Background: A substantial proportion of operative procedures are complicated by infections,
either remote from or related to the surgical site. These infections account for substantive
morbidity and health care costs. With limited research funds available to study interventions
designed to either prevent or reduce the morbidity associated with infections in surgical patients,
we developed a research agenda to develop priorities to aid in study design and to focus
both human and capital resources more effectively.
Methods: A Delphi survey approach was used. Consensus was developed among experts in
the field of surgical infection and the membership of the Surgical Infection Society.
Results: Thirty-six experts generated a total of 62 questions that were submitted for two
rounds of consensus ranking. A total of 31 questions were ranked in the final round and are
available at www.sisna.org. The most highly ranked question was "Does strict glycemic control
compared with standard care reduce the risk of surgical site infection in patients undergoing
abdominal surgery?" Most of the questions had little available data, suggesting these
are both important and necessary areas for further research.
Conclusions: This research agenda, developed by a consensus of experts, provides direction
and focus to the development of interventional trials geared toward reducing the morbidity
associated with infections in surgical patients.
