Preoperative Skin Preparation and Surgical Site Infection
A multicentre prospective cohort study evaluating whether two-field or three-field antiseptic skin preparation reduces surgical site infections in abdominal surgery
Preoperative Skin Preparation and Surgical Site Infection
The PrePSSI Collaborative Study is a multicentre prospective cohort study evaluating the impact of antiseptic skin preparation techniques on the incidence of surgical site infections following abdominal surgery.
Surgical site infection are preventable yet remain a major contributor of hospital acquired infections. The highest incidences of 7.2% are seen in Africa. One cornerstone for prevention is preoperative skin antiseptic application. However, while some jurisdiction use the World Health Organisation recommendation of a single alcohol based solution such as chlorhexidine gluconate-alcohol, public facilities in Zambia still use combination such as aqueous based antiseptics and methylated spirit
The PrePSSI study aims to generate high-quality clinical evidence by comparing two-field versus three-field antiseptic skin preparation techniques in elective abdominal surgery. Through collaboration across multiple hospitals, this study seeks to identify effective strategies that can improve surgical outcomes and strengthen infection prevention practices.
Study highlights
Multicentre research study
The study involves collaboration across multiple hospitals to generate robust evidence on infection prevention practices in abdominal surger
Prospective Cohort Study Design
Patients are followed prospectively to accurately measure postoperative infection outcomes and associated risk factors.
Evidence for Clinical Practice
The findings aim to inform perioperative infection prevention protocols and improve surgical safety.
Collaborative Investigator Network
Surgeons and researchers across participating centres contribute data and expertise to strengthen the quality of the study.