surgical infection

SURGICAL INFECTION
SURGICAL SITE INFECTIONS (SSIs) are infections of the tissues, organs, or spaces exposed by surgeons during performance of an invasive procedure. SSIs are classified into incisional and organ/space infections, and the former are further subclassified into superficial (limited to skin and subcutaneous tissue) and deep incisional categories. The development of SSIs is related to three factors: (a) the degree of microbial contamination of the wound during surgery, (b) the duration of the procedure, and (c) host factors such as diabetes, malnutrition, obesity, immune suppression, and a number of other underlying disease states.. By definition, an incisional SSI has occurred if a surgical wound drains purulent material or if the surgeon judges it to be infected and opens it..
There is a difference between wound colonization and infection. Overtreating colonization is just as injurious as undertreating infection. The strict definition of wound (soft tissue) infection is more than 105 CFU (colony forming unit) per gram of tissue. This warrants expeditious and proper antibiotic/antifungal treatment Often, however, clinical signs raise enough suspicion that the patient is treated before a confirmatory culture is undertaken