Preoperative Decolonization and Surgical Site Infections - a Prospective Randomized Trial

Surgical site infections are a major postoperative complication and are mostly due to colonization with endogenous germs, like Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis or Propionibacterium acnes. In literature, preoperative decolonization procedures showed a trend in lowering surgical site infection rates, but especially in orthopedic surgery data is controversial and randomized controlled trials are lacking. In the main study, the study investigators aim at performing a controlled prospective randomized interventional trial to measure the impact of preoperative decolonization of nasal Staphylococcus aureus carriers on surgical site infection rates in orthopedic surgery. In an alongside study a controlled prospective randomized interventional trial to measure the impact of preoperative skin decolonization of patients undergoing an orthopedic procedure will be conducted.