Introduction Surgical site infection (SSI) is a major postoperative complication, representing the third cause of health care-associated infection. Even though more than 50% of wound infections are preventable, they represent the main cause of prolonged hospital stay, leading to a hospitalization period more than twice longer, and one of the main causes of hospital readmission.– Therefore, SSI constitutes a financial burden and negatively impacts quality-of-life and healthcare systems, increasing costs by up to 240%.– Among SSIs, sternal wound infection is […]

Abstract Background Surgical site infection is an important complication after pediatric cardiac surgery, associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Objectives We sought to identify risk factors for surgical site infection after pediatric cardiac surgeries. Methods A case-control study included patients aged between 1 year and 19 years and 11 months of age, submitted to cardiac surgery performed at a tertiary cardiac center from January 1 st , 2011, through December 31, 2018. Charts were reviewed for pre-, intra, and postoperative […]

Background: Surgical site infections (SSI) are among the most prevalent infections in healthcare institutions, attributing a risk of death which varies from 33% to 77% and a 2- to 11-fold increase in risk of death. Patients submitted to cardiac surgery are more susceptible to SSI, accounting for 3.5% to 21% of SSI. The mortality rate attributable to these causes is as high as 25%. Prevention of SSI in cardiac surgery is based on a bundle of preventive measures, which focus […]