Clean Skin : A literature study on how the health care measure skinpreparation has significance on postoperative site infections

Postoperative site infections are the second most common health care associated infection in Sweden. Surgical procedures can lead to postoperative site infection causing great suffer for the patient and an extended care time with an increased cost as a result. In preparation for surgery, it is important that the skin is well prepared with antiseptics to decrease the risk of postoperative site infection. The purpose with this study was to shed light upon the skin preparation before surgery and its significance to postoperative site infection. Ten scientific articles have been scrutinized and compiled and two themes have been identified – the preoperative and the intraoperative skin preparation. All in all, difference could be spotted in the number of washes and how these had been preformed before the surgery. Similarities could be spotted in the hair shortening procedure and the alcohol added in selected disinfectant, influences the probability for decrease in postoperative surgical site infection. The result from this study shows that more research is needed regarding how the skin shall be prepared before surgery to reduce the number of postoperative site infections