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☐ ☆ ✇ International Wound Journal

The Prevalence and Surveillance of Surgical Site Infections in South Africa: A Literature Review

Por: Emmy Ngoakoana Nokaneng · Samantha L. Holloway — Junio 2nd 2025 at 02:08

ABSTRACT

Surgical site infection is a post-operative complication, which has a significant clinical impact on the affected individual as well as the healthcare system. They are associated with poor outcomes such as increased length of hospital stay, morbidity, mortality and readmissions. As a result, surgical site infections are used as an indicator of the quality of surgical care and for benchmarking. The aim of the review is to gain insight on the current prevalence/incidence and surveillance of surgical site infection in South Africa. The objective was to determine the surgical site infection rate associated with Maxillo-facial and Oral Surgery procedures. A literature review was conducted with the search strategy limited to articles published in English with no limitation to the period. Fifteen articles were deemed eligible for the review according to the inclusion criteria. Eleven articles focused on the epidemiology of surgical site infection in South Africa. The surgical site infection rate varies from 0.65-48% with heterogeneity in the characteristics of the surveillance programmes. The review showed variability in the SSI rates with similar variability in the incidence of surgical site infection as reported on sub-Saharan and African countries (7.93, 9.3, 19.1, 14.5% respectively). The above information was gleaned from institutional point/period prevalence or incidences due to a lack of an integrated national surveillance programme. Thus, there is an urgent necessity to establish an integrated national surveillance programme to facilitate monitoring as well as prevention of surgical site infection in South Africa.

☐ ☆ ✇ International Wound Journal

The incidence of intraoperatively acquired pressure injuries in the park‐bench position was reduced by applying soft silicone multilayer foam dressings

Abstract

The Park-Bench Position (PBP) is associated with a high incidence rate of intraoperatively acquired pressure injuries (IAPIs). Preventive measures must be established to prevent the development of IAPIs. We investigated the risk factors for PBP by applying a soft silicone multilayered foam dressing (SMD) under core temperature management to prevent IAPIs. We conducted a prospective, single-centre, open-label observational study of patients undergoing elective neurosurgery operations using PBP in a university hospital in Japan. The incidence rate of IAPIs in this study was compared with that in our two previous studies, in which a film dressing was applied and core temperature management was not performed. IAPIs developed in 90 patients (6.7%); in the lateral thoracic region in five patients and the iliac crest region in one patient. The operative time (every 1 h: p = 0.0001, OR: odds ratio 3.62, 95% CI: confidence interval 1.73–11.42) was significantly associated with the incidence of IAPIs. In our two previous studies, the incidence rate of IAPIs was 11.0% and 24.1%, respectively, when film dressing was used. SMD may weaken the involvement of risk factors in IAPIs.

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