Thousands of patients undergo surgery each year. Prevention of infection from the surgery is of great importance. It is estimated that infections of the surgical site (incision) are responsible for 14 to 16 percent of all reported hospital infections. If a patient gets a surgical site infection, they are 60 percent more likely to spend time in an intensive care unit, five times more likely to be readmitted and twice as likely to die. Reducing a patient's chance of a surgical site infection is an important goal of the surgical team.

Not all types of surgery require an antibiotic before the surgical cut (incision), but certain types of surgeries may have a higher risk for the development of an infection after surgery. The chance for a surgical site infection in these types of surgery can be reduced by giving an antibiotic in a certain time frame before the surgical cut. Ideally for most of the antibiotics, the best time to give the antibiotic is 0-60 minutes prior to the surgical cut.

Antibiotics are medicines to prevent and treat infections. Research shows that surgery patients who get antibiotics within the hour before their operation are less likely to get wound infections. Getting an antibiotic earlier, or after surgery begins, is not as effective. This chart represents the percentage of patients who received an antibiotic within 0-60 minutes before the surgical incision. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): Hospitals in the top 10 percent in the nation achieve this 94 percent of the time.

Surgical Site Infection Prevention Antibiotic Timing Before Surgical Incision