11 Tips for Reducing SSIs

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The Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses provides a "Back to Basics: Preventing Surgical Site Infections" guide, published in the AORN Journal.

The guide outlines the risk of SSIs and how healthcare providers can take care to prevent such infections from occurring.

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Here are 11 tips to help prevent SSIs.

1. Clean hands often with alcohol-based products.
2. Perform surgical skin antisepsis using appropriate technique and antiseptic.
3. Wear scrubs that have been laundered by the facility.
4. Minimize traffic in the operating room.
5. Follow environmental cleaning protocols.
6. Develop SSI prevention strategies with patients and their families who have previously experienced SSIs.
7. Use a surgical safety checklist.
8. Use team training to encourage a team-based approach to preventing SSIs.
9. Minimize use of immediate use steam sterilization.
10. Clean instruments prior to sterilizing and disinfecting.
11. Be vocal if a break in proper sterilization occurs and correct the error as soon as possible.

The Back to Basics guide also outlines other literature and guidelines for preventing SSIs. Click here to access the full article.

Note: This article was edited on April 29 to correct an error regarding the type of steam sterilization mentioned.

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