Position paper on prevention of surgical site infections in obstetric and gynecological surgery

Surgical site infections represent about a quarter of all infections that develop in the hospital setting. Far from being solved, this problem is expected even increasing in the next years, mainly for the increase in prevalence of obesity and diabetes and the increasing spread of antibiotic resistance. Obstetrics and Gynecology represent, for frequency of interventions, incidence and impact, one of the major fields of interest. Caesarean section is one of the most frequent surgical procedures in women and is the one most likely to get complicate with surgical site infection. According to some estimates, up to 12% of cesarean sections will be complicated by surgical site infection with repercussions on women and newborn health, and high costs for the community. With regard to Gynecology in particular, Gynecological Oncology often requires extensive interventions with a high risk of infections. The Italian Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics (SIGO) has collected a group of colleagues, from all over Italy and from different professional areas, to “update” and “adapt” the most important international guidelines and recommendations on the prevention of surgical site infections in the Italian clinical practice of obstetric and gynecological procedures, in compliance with current legislation. The aim of the document is to inform healthcare personnel to strictly adopt standardized procedures and to use for antisepsis pharmaceutical specialties with specific indications.