It is an infection of the wound caused by a surgical incision in the skin.
It occurs when any of the following factors occur, alone or in combination: improper wound care, presence of microorganisms in the skin or air, improper disinfection of surgical material, immunosuppression (steroids, diabetes, HIV, etc.) or pre-existing diseases. It manifests itself as pain, redness and heat in the area, fever, bad smell and pus discharge.
The diagnosis is made by the healthcare professional based on the patient's history and a visual examination of the wound.
Good hygiene and disinfection of the wound with soap and water, saline and an antiseptic such as iodine or chlorhexidine is necessary. Treatment may include oral antibiotics and antipyretics to reduce fever.
If there is no improvement, you should return to the A&E.
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- D. López, M. Hernández, T. Saldivar, T. Sotolongo, O. Valdés. Infección de la herida quirúrgica. Aspectos epidemiológicos. Rev Cub Med Mil 36(2): 1-10.
- S. Ponce. Manual de Prevención y Control de Infecciones Hospitalarias. Man Oper PALTEX, OPS 4(13):52-68.
- MedlinePlus. Rockville. 2017. Infecciones de heridas quirúrgicas - tratamiento; [citado el 21 de junio de 2017]. Disponible en: https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/ency/article/007645.htm
- UpToDate [Internet]. Waltham. 2017. Complications of abdominal surgical incisions; [citado el 21 de junio de 2017]. Disponible en: http://www.uptodate.com/contents/complications-of-abdominal-surgical-incisions?source=search_result&search=infeccion+herida+quirurica&selectedTitle=1~150
