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Surgical site infections remain a problem despite many decades of research and practice change to eliminate those that are preventable. 

Approximately 0.5% to 3% of surgical patients develop an infection. Compared with patients undergoing surgery who do not have a surgical site infection, these patients are hospitalized approximately 7 to 11 days longer.   As we know, longer hospital stays increase the risk for patients and reduce hospital efficiency and effectiveness. Infections are the leading cause of re-admissions following surgery and can add thousands of dollars to the cost of an admission. 
 

One practice the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted from the outset was the importance of hand hygiene in infection prevention and control – a practice that in the past has often been approached with a degree of complacency.  Some of the literature concludes that compliance with hand hygiene has improved during the course of the pandemic, while other studies suggest it has not.