Surveillance of surgical infection

Abstract

Surveillance of perioperative infectious complications, an ongoing activity to monitor their incidence, is as important as implementing measures to prevent them. Surveillance of infectious diseases occurring in healthcare facilities is generally conducted according to an already established system. The reason for this is that it is useful to compare the occurrence of infectious diseases （e.g., incidence） among healthcare facilities in order to evaluate their infection prevention measures, and for this purpose, it is necessary to use the same data collection items and the same criteria for the specific infectious diseases. Among perioperative infectious complications, surgical site infection （SSI） is the most common surveillance target. In Japan, surveillance of SSI has gradually become more widespread since around 2000, with approximately 1,000 facilities currently conducting SSI surveillance. This has revealed the incidence of SSI in Japan, and by comparing SSI incidence in the given facility with the overall incidence in Japan, it has become possible to determine whether the number of surgical site infections is high or low at the facility. The comparison requires adjustment for various factors rather than a simple SSI incidence, and this method is also evolving through research.