Infection Control and Prevention in Perioperative Practice

Abstract

The personal and financial consequences of avoidable infection are enormous in personal and global terms (DH 2003, Stone, Larson & Kawar 2002). Patients expect to be treated and cared for in clean conditions, and not be exposed to the risks of acquiring an infection by poor practice on the part of healthcare workers (DH 2005, Health Care Commission 2005). Infection control and prevention in perioperative settings assumes an even greater significance because of the vulnerability of patients who are already ill or injured, and because surgery, anaesthesia and immediate postoperative recovery may expose them to invasive procedures, allowing more portals of entry for infection. There is ample evidence, widely available, to support best practice in all healthcare settings. The methods are cheap, easy to apply and very effective (Wright 2004, Pratt et al 2007). This article will examine a range of evidence applicable to perioperative infection control and prevention, including an assessment of current practice and how it may be improved, with a particular emphasis on surgical site infection associated with Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium Difficile (C.diff).