Surgical wound infection.

Wound infections remain a major source of postoperative morbidity, accounting for about a quarter of the total number of nosocomial infections. Today, many of these infections are first recognized in the outpatient clinic or in the patient's home due to the large number of operations done in the outpatient setting. This leads to errors in establishing the true incidence of their occurrence but undoubtedly decreases the overall real cost and length of hospital stay. The pathogens implicated in the development of wound infections remain largely the human microorganisms from the exogenous environment and the endogenous organ microflora. Many perioperative factors have been identified that increase the incidence of the development of postoperative wound infection. Avoidance of these factors as well as the appropriate use of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis has decreased the incidence of wound infection. During the last decade many studies have reported on the individual risk factors that favor the development of postoperative infectious complications in various surgical procedures. It is hoped that this knowledge may allow for prospective alterations in the preventative and therapeutic modalities in the high-risk patient in the studies designed in the 1990s. The use of effective infection surveillance both in the hospital and in the outpatient setting is mandatory in order to collect meaningful data. The use of computer technology will greatly facilitate the proper surveillance, analysis, and control of infections in the surgical patient.