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Risk of SSI decreases after age 65

Infection Control Monitor, April 8, 2005

The risk of surgical site infections (SSI) in patients increases each year until age 65, then decreases each year thereafter, according to a large study performed by researchers at the Duke University Medical Center.

The findings are extremely important to surgeons, who heavily consider age when deciding upon surgery.

Of the 145,000 patients who participated in the Duke study, the risk of SSI increased by 1.1.% per year between the ages of 17 and 65. The risk of SSI decreased by 1.2% each year after 65. No infections were reported in patients older than 95.

The study included patients at 11 hospitals between 1991 and 2002.

SSI, which occur in more than 325,000 patients each year in the United States, cost more than $1 billion in care.

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