Surgical site infections - A current consensus
Abstract
Before the mid-19th century, surgical patients commonly developed postoperative “irritative fever,� followed by
purulent drainage from their incisions, overwhelming sepsis, and often death. It was not until the late 1860s, after Joseph
Lister introduced the principles of antisepsis that postoperative infectious morbidity decreased substantially. Lister’s work radically changed surgery from an activity associated with infection and death to a discipline that could eliminate suffering and prolong life.
purulent drainage from their incisions, overwhelming sepsis, and often death. It was not until the late 1860s, after Joseph
Lister introduced the principles of antisepsis that postoperative infectious morbidity decreased substantially. Lister’s work radically changed surgery from an activity associated with infection and death to a discipline that could eliminate suffering and prolong life.