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Surgical Site Infections (SSI)

What is a surgical site infection?

A surgical site infection, or SSI, is an infection that a person may acquire after having surgery. The infection occurs in the part of the body where the surgery was performed. SSIs can be superficial infections, involving the skin only, or can be more serious and involve tissues under the skin, organs, or implanted material.

Whats the Solution

Source: World Health Organization (WHO)

Learn more about SSI

Strategies to Prevent SSIs in Acute Care Hospitals: 2014 Update

WHO's My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene:
Focus on caring for a patient with
a post-operative wound

WHO's Do the right thing at the right time to stop  surgical site infection

WHO's Surgical Handrubbing
Technique

World Health Organization (WHO) Resources

Protocol for surgical site infection surveillance with a focus on settings with limited resources

Implementation manual to support the prevention of surgical site infections at the facility level: turning recommendations into practice

Preventing surgical site infections: implementation approaches for evidence-based recommendations

Additional Resources

Indiana Department of Health

SSI Quick Facts

Indiana Hospital Association (IHA)

IHA SSI Resources

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Toolkit to Promote Safe Surgery

Additional Resources

Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC)

CDC SSI webpage

CDC Guidelines for Prevention

Page reviewed and updated: May 2024