Factsheet
S. aureus and surgical site infections: benefits of screening and decolonisation before surgery

The impact of SSI includes significant morbidity and mortality, which lead directly to increasing healthcare costs. The incidence of SSI following major clean surgical procedures varies according to the procedure, with approximately 11% for cardiac surgery, 7% for vascular procedures, 2% for orthopaedic procedures and 5% for breast surgery. Find the advantages of screening and decolonisation of *S. aureus* in order to avoid surgical site infection on this factsheet at a glance.

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Factsheet
hygiene in practice – review issue 3

We are all having the fortune of getting older – life expectancy has doubled between 1950 and 2017. But with increasing age, the risk of disease and injury grows, and therefore so does the number of surgeries any of us might experience. Unfortunately, surgical site infections (SSI) are currently the second most common cause of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in Europe. With effective measures in the pre-, intra- and postoperative phase, patients can be better protected from SSI - find more insights in this issue of review.

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Factsheet
New recommendation on storage duration for sterile medical devices

Contaminated surgical instruments, deficits in the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) or errors in the cleaning, disinfection or in the process of sterilisation of surgical materials are disastrous. Single-use instruments in sterile packaging are an alternative to reprocessing standard reusable instruments because error-prone cleaning steps are unnecessary. Correct storage of instruments must be considered. For this reason, the German Society for Sterile Supply (DGSV) has issued a “Recommendation on storage duration for sterile medical devices” (85).

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Factsheet
Prevention of surgical site infections

Every medical procedure is accompanied by a risk of infection. With a share of approximately 22 per cent, SSI are the second most common nosocomial infections in Germany, also because the number of surgical procedures continues to rise. In low- and middle-income countries, SSI is the most common form of nosocomial infection, according to the WHO. The question of whether “inpatient” or “outpatient” surgery is performed plays no role in the assessment of the SSI risk. Find more information on SSI prevention on this factsheet:

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Factsheet
hygiene in practice – review Issue 2

Since the beginning of time, people have been burdened by wounds. Today there is still much to discover in this field. From researching their healing processes, the effects of biofilm to evaluating treatment methods and developing new therapies, such as negative pressure wound therapy – we are always discovering new factors that make us better understand wounds and answer open questions.

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Factsheet
hygiene in practice – review Issue 1

Do you know how often contact occurs during the care and treatment of patients? Researchers have found out that, on average, this takes place every four seconds! That would be two contacts in the time it takes you to read this text. Every two minutes, a risk of infection arises from such contacts. On the following pages, in the cover story of our review, you can read how scientists arrived at this conclusion and how you can prevent infections with proper hand hygiene.

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