In neonatal and pediatric settings, surgical site infections (SSIs) occur in 2-10% of surgical procedures and are associated with prolonged hospitalization, increased mortality, and increased costs to the health care system. Most SSIs are acquired in the operating room and in more than 50% of cases are preventable. Hand hygiene and proper use of gloves are the fundamental practice to prevent their occurrence. Hand hygiene should be performed before and after patient contact, before handling medical devices whether or not gloves are used, after contact with biological fluids or secretions, mucous membrane, nonintact skin, or wound dressings, when in the course of care one moves from one contaminated body site to another of the same patient, after contact with contaminated surfaces and objects in the immediate vicinity of the patient, after removing sterile or nonsterile gloves, and before handling medications or preparing food. The use of gloves is never a substitute for and should be associated with hand disinfection.

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