Prediction of Surgical Site Infections Using Spectrophotometry: Preliminary Results

Wound infections occur in approximately 5% of operations. These infections cost the U.K. National Health Service up to £65 million per year and lower patient quality of life. If wound infections could be predicted there would be potential for prevention and a reduction in cost and morbidity would ensue. Work has previously been carried out to predict when these infections will occur, and attempts have been made to create scoring systems for patients undergoing operations. The most simple of these is to classify the type of operation into one of the four following groups