[AMBU-KISS: quality control in outpatient surgery]. / AMBU-KISS. Qualitätssicherung beim ambulanten Operieren.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Surgical site infections are associated with considerable morbidity and additional health care costs arising from lengthy hospitalization. According to the German Infection Protection Act implemented on 1 January 2001, hospitals and outpatient surgery institutions are required to assess and document nosocomial infections. The data are to be made available to the German Ministry of Health on demand. METHOD: We report on a new surveillance module (AMBU-KISS) designed to assess and document surgical site infections in outpatient surgery. The objective is to create a reference database for these institutions. RESULTS: Preliminary results obtained for two indicator procedures show no significant differences in surgical site infection rates between outpatient surgery institutions and the hospital setting (OP-KISS). The arithmetic mean values of surgical site infection rates in arthroscopic surgery of the knee are 0.09% in AMBU-KISS and 0.11% in OP-KISS. For inguinal hernias, the respective rates are 0.65% and 0.78%. A significant difference was observed only for vein stripping procedures, with surgical site infection rates of 0.38% in AMBU-KISS and 0.64%in OP-KISS CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that AMBU-KISS is a reliable tool for assessing surgical site infections in outpatient surgery.