Impact of Care Bundles Including Preoperative Skin Preparation and Vaginal Cleaning on Preventing Surgical Site Infections in Caesarean Deliveries.
Caesarean section (CS) is one of the most frequent surgical procedures performed. Consequently, in obstetrical situations, particularly in emergency CS, post-CS surgical site infections (SSIs) are frequent. SSIs are a major contributor to infectious morbidity which occurs after any invasive surgical treatment at the incision site. Care bundles are a group of coordinated, methodical measures used to reduce SSI that may also enhance patient outcomes along with preoperative preparation of the skin and cleaning of the vagina. Hence, the present scoping review aims to investigate the impact of surgical care bundles, preoperative skin preparation, and vaginal cleaning on SSI prevention in women undergoing CS. A literature search was conducted between 2019 and 2024 utilizing electronic databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The keywords used consisted of, "caesarean section", AND "surgical site infection", OR "pre-operative skin preparation", OR "vaginal cleaning", OR "surgical bundle" to include relevant articles in the review. Based on the selection criteria, seven studies were included. The results of the included trials reported a notable decrease in post-CS SSI with the use of a bundled method including vaginal cleaning and preoperative skin preparations; nevertheless, larger investigations are required to confirm the precise involvement. Hence, the utilization of evidence-based information to develop appropriate surgical bundles to decrease the rates of SSIs after CS is highly recommended.