Abstract
Selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) is a prophylactic strategy designed to minimise the infection-related morbidity and mortality in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) [1, 2]. Effective and safe use of the SDD method of infection prevention requires a full understanding of this strategy and of its aims and limitations. The concept of SDD is based on three pillars: (1) 14 (15 if MRSA is included) microorganisms are responsible for over 95% of infections in ICU patients; (2) infections in ICU patients are classified into primary endogenous, secondary endogenous and exogenous infections; and (3) effective and safe infection control of the three types of infection requires the full four-component SDD protocol. This chapter describes the principles behind the SDD concept, the four components of the SDD strategy, and the main differences between traditional and SDD microbiology.
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Rommes, H.J. (2008). The Concept of SDD. In: van der Voort, P.H.J., van Saene, H.K.F. (eds) Selective Digestive Tract Decontamination in Intensive Care Medicine: a Practical Guide to Controlling Infection. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0653-9_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0653-9_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Milano
Print ISBN: 978-88-470-0652-2
Online ISBN: 978-88-470-0653-9
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