LAUSR

Editor’s note: Reading research and incorporating valid research results into practice is a vital part of ensuring that perioperative nursing practice is evidence based. The AORN Research Evidence Appraisal Tools can help perioperative nurses evaluate research. There are three tools for evaluation of the different types of evidence: the Research Evidence Appraisal Tool–Study, the Research Evidence Appraisal Tool–Summary, and the Non-Research Evidence Appraisal Tool. These tools are used to evaluate the evidence upon which AORN’s guidelines are based. The tools can be used to appraise the level of evidence and quality of evidence for a single research study, a summary of multiple research studies, or non-research evidence. Each section of the tool is discussed to help readers understand why the study received a particular appraisal score and what that rating means to perioperative nursing practice. Clinical judgment should be used to determine whether the findings of an individual study are of value and relevance in a particular setting or patient care situation. Individuals intending to put this study’s findings into practice are encouraged to review the original article to determine its applicability to their setting. A surgical site infection (SSI) is an infection occur‐ ring after surgery in the part of the body where the surgery took place. In particular, postoper‐ ative morbidity outcomes are defined as adverse surgical events occurring within 30 days of surgery. Previous work has explored the risk factors associated with SSIs, but few studies have focused on the detection of SSIs.