Surgical Site Infection Prevention Program In China

Abstract

The impact of surgical site infection cannot be under-estimated especially in China, which has more than 1.4 billion populations in whole country. The governance of prevention of SSI is mainly coordinated by the National Health and Family Planning Commission and Ministry of Health of Central People’s Government. There are strict laws and ordinance on the daily operations of Hospitals and to health care providers. For examples: There should be an infection control unit for health care sector with more than 100 in-patient beds, and should lead by Chief Executive; Hospitals should report all the infection related statistics to regional and central Government; there will be penalty to those who violate the laws including fines, being dismissed or Hospital Chiefs even have to bear criminal liabilities. In addition, standard of Hospitals are being recognized by the National Accreditation Program, which can help to increase the reputation of Hospitals. Within the comprehensive list of “requirements” / target objectives for hospital management teams includes percentage of antibiotics used in class I wound operation and overall percentage of antibiotics utilization in whole hospital; random check on knowledge and compliance on hand hygiene; number of SSI in class I operation, etc. Despite a general trend towards evidence-based practice on prevention SSI, due to the geographic and cultural difference, there are still significant variations in clinical practice: e.g. routine shaving before operation, etc.