Preventing Infections after Lower Limb Artery Surgery
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a condition where the arteries that supply blood to the limbs become narrowed or blocked, usually due to a build up of plaque, which reduces blood flow.
This can lead to symptoms like pain or cramping in the legs when walking. Severe PAD may require surgery (arterial reconstruction) to repair the arteries.
Interventions to Reduce Infections
- Antibiotics seem to reduce surgical site infections in people undergoing surgery to fix the lower limb arteries.
- Closed incision negative pressure therapy may reduce the graft infection rate and the surgical site infection rate, but more standardized studies are needed.
- Other interventions appear to make little or no difference in reducing the incidence of graft and surgical site infections.
Infections at the surgical site are a major concern, causing serious illness and death, with a large impact on health care worldwide.
Author's summary: Preventing infections after surgery is crucial for patients with PAD.