Long-Jiang Chen, MD, PhD, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, No. 92 Ochre West Road, Wuhu 241000, Anhui Province, China. clj2023@wnmc.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Guang-Bin Chen, Rong-Mei Tang, Zhi-Gang Liu, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Second People’s Hospital of Wuhu, Wuhu Hospital Affiliated to East China Normal University, Wuhu 241000, Anhui Province, China
Zhi-Lin Wang, Yan-Guang Sha, Graduate School, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241000, Anhui Province, China
Long-Jiang Chen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Affiliated Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241000, Anhui Province, China
Co-first authors: Guang-Bin Chen and Zhi-Lin Wang.
Co-corresponding authors: Zhi-Gang Liu and Long-Jiang Chen.
Author contributions: Chen GB and Wang ZL performed literature retrieval, wrote the original draft, and contributed equally to this work; Sha YG and Tang RM performed literature retrieval and data analysis; Liu ZG and Chen LJ contributed to conceptualization, writing-review and editing, and project administration, they contributed equally as co-corresponding authors. All authors approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Long-Jiang Chen, MD, PhD, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, No. 92 Ochre West Road, Wuhu 241000, Anhui Province, China. clj2023@wnmc.edu.cn
Received: April 16, 2025 Revised: May 2, 2025 Accepted: July 2, 2025 Published online: October 27, 2025 Processing time: 191 Days and 17.5 Hours
Abstract
Surgical site infections remain a significant challenge in gastrointestinal surgery, despite advances in surgical techniques and antimicrobial therapy. Wang et al’s retrospective analysis highlights the transformative potential of comprehensive perioperative disinfection and isolation protocols in gastrointestinal surgery, demonstrating a 55% reduction in postoperative infection rates and attenuation of systemic inflammation. Their findings underscore the critical role of multidisciplinary strategies—such as preoperative povidone-iodine decolonization, intraoperative laminar airflow systems, and strict postoperative wound care—in mitigating infection risk and preserving organ function. However, the study revealed persistent gaps in protocol standardization and compliance monitoring, particularly in resource-limited settings. Although these measures reduce reliance on antibiotics and align with global antimicrobial resistance containment efforts, challenges such as the high cost of technology and issues with contextual adaptability warrant urgent attention. This study conclusively demonstrated that structured perioperative disinfection protocols significantly transform surgical outcomes by creating comprehensive infection barriers that extend beyond traditional antibiotic prophylaxis. Future priorities include prospective multicenter trials to validate efficacy, cost-benefit analyses for equitable implementation, and integration of artificial intelligence-driven innovations to optimize infection prevention. This study redefines infection control as a cornerstone of surgical quality, urging collaborative action to bridge the gap between clinical evidence and real-world practice.
Core Tip: This editorial highlights Wang et al’s findings that structured perioperative disinfection and isolation measures reduce gastrointestinal surgery infection rates by 55%, while improving systemic inflammation and organ function. Their multidisciplinary approach combining preoperative decolonization, intraoperative aseptic techniques, and postoperative wound care, marks a paradigm shift in infection control beyond antibiotics. Key challenges include protocol standardization, cost-effective adaptation, and sustainable compliance. This study calls for prospective trials, artificial intelligence-driven risk stratification, and global collaboration to enhance implementation, redefining infection prevention as a cornerstone of surgical quality, with far-reaching implications for patient outcomes and antimicrobial resistance mitigation.
