Mapping national surveillance of surgical site infections in England: needs and priorities (12 June 2018)

Summary

The rise in antimicrobial resistance has highlighted the importance of surgical site infection (SSI) prevention with effective surveillance strategies playing a key role in improving patient safety. The aim of this study from Troughton et al. was to map national needs and priorities for SSI surveillance against current national surveillance activity.

The authors found that current surveillance and future priorities were not associated with SSI rate, volume, or cost to hospitals. The two highest contributors of SSIs and related costs have no (caesarean section) or limited (LBS) coverage by national surveillance.