New Delhi, India

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Hospitals have a distinct smell because of the cleaning practices used to prevent infections. It has been a common belief that infections contracted during hospital stays were because of the bacteria acquired in the hospitals. New research, however, denies the theory and reveals that the reason behind the hospital infections is the bacteria that are already present in or on the bodies of the patients before they reach them.

The research published in Science Translational Medicine compared the bacteria that reside on and inside our bodies to the ones that cause healthcare-associated infections and found that most of the time the harmless bacteria that coexist with us when we are healthy cause serious infections when we are in hospitals.

Why are surgical site infections so problematic?

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Surgical site infections are a major concern in healthcare settings. They not only add significantly to the annual expense of hospital-acquired infections, but they also raise the risk of hospital readmission and death after surgery. Despite considerable preventive efforts implemented by hospitals, surgical site infections have not decreased, accounting for around one in every thirty procedures.

How and why do surgical infections occur in patients?

To understand the reason behind surgical site infections, they conducted a study involving over 200 patients undergoing spinal surgery. They analysed bacteria from the patients' noses, skin, and stool before surgery and monitored them post-surgery.

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The findings revealed that 86 percent of bacteria causing infections after spine surgery were genetically matched to bacteria already present in the patients before surgery. Furthermore, nearly 60 percent of these infections displayed resistance to antibiotics administered during surgery or used as antiseptics before incision. 

How can this study help improve future cases of surgical infections?

Understanding that patients' microbiomes play a significant role in surgical site infections offers a potential pathway for improved prevention strategies. Instead of employing standard preventive measures, personalised approaches tailored to individual microbiomes could prove more effective. However, further research is necessary to fully comprehend the implications of these findings and develop precise strategies for personalised infection prevention.