[2] An infection is designated as an SSI if it develops at the site of a surgical wound, either because of contamination during surgery or as a result of postoperative complications.
[3] Surgical site infections that are limited to the skin and subcutaneous tissues are classified as superficial incisional SSIs.
Fever is another common symptom, which may accompany other signs such as increased warmth, swelling, or delayed healing at the surgical site.
[3] A study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine, published in 2024 and featured by the University of Minnesota[7] and the American Association for the Advancement of Science,[8] and Nature[9] involved 210 adult patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery and found that most infections following surgery were caused by bacteria already present on the patients' skin.
Whole genome sequencing of 22 SSI samples revealed that 86% were similar to bacterial strains found on the patients' skin before surgery.