C361 Evidence-Based Practice and Applied Nursing Research Task 2: Surgical site infections
People seek healthcare services in the hospitals because of various reasons, but sometimes they end up being victims of other infections in the facility. Healthcare-associated problems are common worldwide, and research shows that the problems are inevitable. According to the reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), healthcare-associated infections are the third leading problems experienced in hospital facilities (CDC, 2017). Other problems encountered include alcohol-related harms, food safety, heart disease and motor vehicle injuries. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are the infections that patients acquire while receiving treatment for surgical and medical conditions. Research has it that most healthcare-associated infections are preventable with the application of proper control measures and preventive strategies. Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a major concern for healthcare providers because they affect a wide range of patients in both acute and chronic care setups. This paper discusses surgical site infections and provides the current practice for the problem together with past research on the issue and the preventive strategies using Chlorhexidine gluconate solution.
Description of the Problem
Surgical site infections are among the leading HAIs in hospitals. The CDC defines a surgical site infection as an infection that occurs after a procedure on a given part of the body where the surgery was conducted (CDC, 2017). The infections are associated with a longer post-operative hospital stay, treatment in intensive care units and additional surgical procedures on the patient. The infections occur in many care settings including acute care hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, dialysis facilities, long-term care facilities and outpatient care. Surgical site infections are not limited to the skin where surgery is done but also the underlying tissues, internal organs as well as the implanted surgical materials. The CDC report of 2014 identified key data associated with SSIs. It was observed that about 2-5% of patients undergoing inpatient surgery acquire SSIs. SSIs account for 20% of all healthcare-associated infections in hospitalized individuals and research indicates that SSIs increase the risk of death by 2-11% (CDC, 2017). The problem is fatal because it is observed that 77% of all patients affected with SSIs die from a direct cause attributed to the infection.
The significance of the Problem
Surgical site infections are associated with....
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