When Antimicrobial Treatment and Surgical Prophylaxis Collide: A Stewardship Opportunity.

Background: In 2002, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established the Surgical Infection Prevention (SIP) project for the purposes of developing and standardizing quality improvement measures known to reduce the rates of post-operative surgical site infections (SSIs). Four years later the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), an expansion of SIP, was published in governmental Specifications Manual for National Inpatient Quality Measures and provided several additional initiatives applicable to the perioperative period. Central to both projects are the assurance of the timeliness, selection, and duration of peri-operative surgical prophylactic antibiotics. In support of this objective, various medical associations, such as the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), have developed the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Surgery. To ensure compliance with quality measures, hospitals are required to report data to the Physicians Quality Reporting System, which is then reviewed by CMS for reimbursement purposes and to measure hospital performance. To maintain optimal standards of care and satisfy all core measures, it is expected that patients undergoing most categories of surgical procedures receive prophylactic antibiotics. We recognized that patients already being administered antimicrobial therapy as treatment for the condition requiring the surgery not uncommonly also were prescribed unwarranted and redundant pre-operative antibiotics. Our study was meant to quantify such antibiotic redundancy, which only risks the development of antimicrobial resistance and adverse events, to bolster our and other hospitals antimicrobial stewardship programs. Methods: A retrospective analysis of computerized hospital records over a one-month period of time (November 2022) was conducted focusing on hospital admissions that involved surgical operative procedures. Only those patients who had received a pre-operative surgical prophylactic antibiotic were included in the analysis. Results: Of the 92 surgeries that fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 38 (41.3%) were performed on patients who were already receiving therapeutic antibiotics for more than 24 hours targeted to treat the infection for which they were undergoing surgery. These included laparoscopic cholecystectomy (24), appendectomy (12), wound debridement (12), and soft tissue incision and drainage procedures (9), comprising nearly 50% of each type of these operations performed during the study time period. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate a clear opportunity to strengthen both our, and presumably other, hospitals antimicrobial stewardship programs. Together with physician education, granting the pharmacy the ability to cancel unnecessary and redundant surgical prophylactic antibiotics would conceivably be of great benefit.

Surgical Site Infection in Thoracic Surgery Is Not Associated With Perioperative Hypothermia.

INTRODUCTION: The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) added the SCIP-Inf-10 measure to mandate that all surgical patients have perioperative temperature management to reduce surgical site infection. While the basis of this measure originated in colorectal surgery, we hypothesized that this would also apply to thoracic surgery patients. METHODS: This was a retrospective single-center pilot study reviewing two years of thoracic surgery cases for the incidence and duration of hypothermia during the operation and surgical site infection occurring within 30 days. Hypothermia was defined as a core temperature of < 36° C.  Results: A total of 317 patients were included in the study. Sixty-two percent of patients were identified as hypothermic. The average intraoperative temperature was 35.4°C ± 0.8°C in the hypothermic group and 36.4°C ± 0.3°C in the normothermic group. There were four surgical site infections in the study with three cases from the <36°C group (p = 1). There was no difference in average post-anesthesia care unit length of stay between the groups. The average hospital length of stay was 5.5 ± 5.2 days for the hypothermic group and 8.6 ± 12.8 days for the normothermic group (p=0.0024). CONCLUSION: Perioperative hypothermia was common in thoracic surgery and did not have a negative impact on surgical site infection.

Assessing the sustainability of compliance with surgical site infection prophylaxis after discontinuation of mandatory active reporting: study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infections are common. Risk can be reduced substantially with appropriate preoperative antimicrobial administration. In 2005, the VA implemented the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) in the setting of high rates of non-compliance with antimicrobial prophylaxis guidelines. SCIP included public reporting of evidenced-based antimicrobial guideline compliance metrics in high-risk surgeries. SCIP was highly successful and led to high rates of adoption of preoperative antimicrobials and early discontinuation of postoperative antimicrobials (>95%). The program was retired in 2015, as the manual measurement and reporting process was costly with limited expected additional benefit. To our knowledge, no studies have assessed whether the gains achieved by SCIP were sustained since active support for the program was discontinued. Furthermore, there has been no investigation of the spread of antimicrobial prophylaxis guideline adoption beyond the limited set of procedures that were included in the program. METHODS: Using a mixed methods sequential exploratory approach, this study will (1) quantitatively measure compliance with SCIP metrics over time and across all procedures in the five major surgical specialties targeted by SCIP and (2) collect qualitative data from stakeholders to identify strategies that were effective for sustaining compliance. Diffusion of Innovation Theory will guide assessment of whether improvements achieved spread to procedures not included under the umbrella of the program. Electronic algorithms to measure SCIP antimicrobial use will be adapted from previously developed methodology. These highly novel data mining algorithms leverage the rich VA electronic health record and capture structured and text data and represent a substantial technological advancement over resource-intensive manual chart review or incomplete electronic surveillance based on pharmacy data. An interrupted time series analysis will be used to assess whether SCIP compliance was sustained following program discontinuation. Generalized linear models will be used to assess whether compliance with appropriate prophylaxis increased in all SCIP targeted and non-targeted procedures by specialty over the duration the program's active reporting. The Dynamic Sustainability Framework will guide the qualitative methods to assess intervention, provider, facility, specialty, and contextual factors associated with sustainability over time. Barriers and facilitators to sustainability will be mapped to implementation strategies and the study will yield an implementation playbook to guide future sustainment efforts. RELEVANCE: Sustainability of practice change has been described as one of the most important, but least studied areas of clinical medicine. Learning how practices spread is also a critically important area of investigation. This study will use novel informatics strategies to evaluate factors associated with sustainability following removal of active policy surveillance and advance our understanding about these important, yet understudied, areas.

Protocol-driven prevention of perioperative hypothermia in the pediatric neurosurgical population.

OBJECTIVE: Perioperative hypothermia (PH) is a preventable, pathological, and iatrogenic state that has been shown to result in increased surgical blood loss, increased surgical site infections, increased hospital length of stay, and patient discomfort. Maintenance of normothermia is recommended by multiple surgical quality organizations; however, no group yet provides an ergonomic, evidence-based protocol to reduce PH for pediatric neurosurgery patients. The authors' aim was to evaluate the efficacy of a PH prevention protocol in the pediatric neurosurgery population. METHODS: A prospective, nonrandomized study of 120 pediatric neurosurgery patients was performed. Thirty-eight patients received targeted warming interventions throughout their perioperative phases of care (warming group-WG). The remaining 82 patients received no extra warming care during their perioperative period (control group-CG). Patients were well matched for age, sex, and preparation time intraoperatively. Hypothermia was defined as < 36°C. The primary outcome of the study was maintenance of normothermia preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively. RESULTS: WG patients were significantly warmer on arrival to the operating room (OR) and were 60% less likely to develop PH (p < 0.001). Preoperative forced air warmer use both reduced the risk of PH at time 0 intraoperatively and significantly reduced the risk of any PH intraoperatively (p < 0.001). All patients, regardless of group, experienced a drop in core temperature until a nadir occurred at 30 minutes intraoperatively for the WG and 45 minutes for the CG. At every time interval, from preoperatively to 120 minutes intraoperatively, CG patients were between 2 and 3 times more likely to experience PH (p < 0.001). All patients were warm on arrival to the postanesthesia care unit regardless of patient group. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative forced air warmer use significantly increases the average intraoperative time 0 temperature, helping to prevent a fall into PH at the intraoperative nadir. Intraoperatively, a strictly and consistently applied warming protocol made intraoperative hypothermia significantly less likely as well as less severe when it did occur. Implementation of a warming protocol necessitated only limited resources and an OR culture change, and was well tolerated by OR staff.

The relationship between surgical site drains and reoperation for wound-related complications following posterior cervical spine surgery: a multicenter retrospective study.

OBJECTIVEUse of surgical site drains following posterior cervical spine surgery is variable, and its impact on outcomes remains controversial. Studies of drain use in the lumbar spine have suggested that drains are not associated with reduction of reoperations for wound infection or hematoma. There is a paucity of studies examining this relationship in the cervical spine, where hematomas and infections can have severe consequences. This study aims to examine the relationship between surgical site drains and reoperation for wound-related complications following posterior cervical spine surgery.METHODSThis study is a multicenter retrospective review of 1799 consecutive patients who underwent posterior cervical decompression with instrumentation at 4 tertiary care centers between 2004 and 2016. Demographic and perioperative data were analyzed for associations with drain placement and return to the operating room.RESULTSOf 1799 patients, 1180 (65.6%) had a drain placed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified history of diabetes (OR 1.37, p = 0.03) and total number of levels operated (OR 1.32, p < 0.001) as independent predictors of drain placement. Rates of reoperation for any surgical site complication were not different between the drain and no-drain groups (4.07% vs 3.88%, p = 0.85). Similarly, rates of reoperation for surgical site infection (1.61% vs 2.58%, p = 0.16) and hematoma (0.68% vs 0.48%, p = 0.62) were not different between the drain and no-drain groups. However, after adjusting for history of diabetes and the number of operative levels, patients with drains had significantly lower odds of returning to the operating room for surgical site infection (OR 0.48, p = 0.04) but not for hematoma (OR 1.22, p = 0.77).CONCLUSIONSThis large study characterizes current practice patterns in the utilization of surgical site drains during posterior cervical decompression and instrumentation. Patients with drains placed did not have lower odds of returning to the operating room for postoperative hematoma. However, the authors' data suggest that patients with drains may be less likely to return to the operating room for surgical site infection, although the absolute number of infections in the entire population was small, limiting the analysis.

Implementation of an infection prevention bundle and increased physician awareness improves surgical outcomes and reduces costs associated with spine surgery.

OBJECTIVE Previous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of infection prevention protocols in reducing infection rates. This study investigated the effects of the development and implementation of an infection prevention protocol that was augmented by increased physician awareness of spinal fusion surgical site infection (SSI) rates and resultant cost savings. METHODS A cohort clinical investigation over a 10-year period was performed at a single tertiary spine care academic institution. Preoperative infection control measures (chlorohexidine gluconate bathing, Staphylococcus aureus nasal screening and decolonization) followed by postoperative infection control measures (surgical dressing care) were implemented. After the implementation of these infection control measures, an awareness intervention was instituted in which all attending and resident neurosurgeons were informed of their individual, independently adjudicated spinal fusion surgery infection rates and rankings among their peers. During the course of these interventions, the overall infection rate was tracked as well as the rates for those neurosurgeons who complied with the preoperative and postoperative infection control measures (protocol group) and those who did not (control group). RESULTS With the implementation of postoperative surgical dressing infection control measures and physician awareness, the postoperative spine surgery infection rate decreased by 45% from 3.8% to 2.1% (risk ratio 0.55; 95% CI 0.32-0.93; p = 0.03) for those in the protocol cohort, resulting in an estimated annual cost savings of $291,000. This reduction in infection rate was not observed for neurosurgeons in the control group, although the overall infection rate among all neurosurgeons decreased by 54% from 3.3% to 1.5% (risk ratio 0.46; 95% CI 0.28-0.73; p = 0.0013). CONCLUSIONS A novel paradigm for spine surgery infection control combined with physician awareness methods resulted in significantly decreased SSI rates and an associated cost reduction. Thus, information sharing and physician engagement as a supplement to formal infection control measures result in improvements in surgical outcomes and costs.

Quality improvement initiative: Preventative Surgical Site Infection Protocol in Vascular Surgery.

Objective A quality improvement initiative was employed to decrease single institution surgical site infection rate in open lower extremity revascularization procedures. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: In an attempt to lower patient morbidity, we developed and implemented the Preventative Surgical Site Infection Protocol in Vascular Surgery. Surgical site infections lead to prolonged hospital stays, adjunctive procedure, and additive costs. We employed targeted interventions to address the common risk factors that predispose patients to post-operative complications. Methods Retrospective review was performed between 2012 and 2016 for all surgical site infections after revascularization procedures of the lower extremity. A quality improvement protocol was initiated in January 2015. Primary outcome was the assessment of surgical site infection rate reduction in the pre-protocol vs. post-protocol era. Secondary outcomes evaluated patient demographics, closure method, perioperative antibiotic coverage, and management outcomes. Results Implementation of the protocol decreased the surgical site infection rate from 6.4% to 1.6% p = 0.0137). Patient demographics and comorbidities were assessed and failed to demonstrate a statistically significant difference among the infection and no-infection groups. Wound closure with monocryl suture vs. staple proved to be associated with decreased surgical site infection rate ( p < 0.005). Conclusions Preventative measures, in the form of a standardized protocol, to decrease surgical site infections in the vascular surgery population are effective and necessary. Our data suggest that there may be benefit in the incorporation of MRSA and Gram-negative coverage as part of the Surgical Care Improvement Project perioperative guidelines.

Morbidity and Mortality in Elective Total Hip Arthroplasty Following Surgical Care Improvement Project Guidelines.

BACKGROUND: Following evidence questioning the safety and efficacy of perioperative beta-blocker therapy in noncardiac surgery, the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) guidelines were retired in 2015. However, perioperative myocardial infarctions and cardiac complications remain leading causes of mortality following noncardiac surgery. The impact of the SCIP guidelines on reducing cardiac complications in patients undergoing elective total hip arthroplasty (THA) has not been evaluated. METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was queried for 345,875 elective THA performed from 2003 to 2011. Patient demographics and morbidity as well as the incidence of nonfatal and fatal cardiac complications and overall mortality associated with cardiac complications were determined before and following SCIP implementation. RESULTS: Following the institution of the SCIP guidelines, the overall mortality following cardiac complications decreased by 41%. Although the incidence of nonfatal cardiac events after THA did increase 5% (primarily secondary to an increased incidence of nonfatal hypotension), the incidence of postoperative inpatient mortality, stroke, fatal hypotension, fatal myocardial infarction, and nonfatal and fatal cardiac arrest significantly decreased. CONCLUSION: Following the implementation of SCIP guidelines, there was a 41% reduction in mortality and a significant decrease in fatal cardiac complications, postoperative hypotension, myocardial infarction, and cardiac arrest. Despite SCIP guidelines being retired in 2015, evidence supports continuation of perioperative beta-blockade in primary elective total adult hip and knee arthroplasty.

Consensus Bundle on Prevention of Surgical Site Infections After Major Gynecologic Surgery.

Surgical site infections are the most common complication of surgery in the United states. Of surgeries in women of reproductive age, hysterectomy is one of the most frequently performed, second only to cesarean birth. Therefore, prevention of surgical site infections in women undergoing gynecologic surgery is an ideal topic for a patient safety bundle. The primary purpose of this safety bundle is to provide recommendations that can be implemented into any surgical environment in an effot to reduce the incidence of surgical site infection. This bundle was developed by a multidisciplinary team convened by the Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care. The bundle is organized into four domains: Readiness, Recognition and Prevention, Response, and Reporting and Systems Learning. In addition to recommendations for practice, each of the domains stresses communication and teamwork between all members of the surgical team. Although the bundle components are designed to be adaptable to work in a variety of clinical settings, standardization within institutions is encouraged.

The Use of Surgical Care Improvement Projects in Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a potentially mortal complication in patients undergoing surgery. Deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism can be seen up to 40 % of patients who have no or inappropriate VTE prophylaxis during perioperative period.In addition to the preoperative and intraoperative preventive measures, the standardization of postoperative care and follow-up are essential to reduce VTE risk. Modern healthcare prioritizes patient's safety and aims to reduce postoperative morbidity by using standardized protocols. Use of quality improvement projects with well-organized surgical care has an important role to prevent VTE during hospital stay. Present surgical care improvement projects have provided us the opportunity to identify patients who are vulnerable to VTE. Description and introduction of the quality standards for VTE prevention in the educational materials, meetings and at the medical schools will increase the VTE awareness among the health care providers. You are going to find the characteristics of the major surgical quality improvement projects and their relations with VTE in the chapter.

Update on Guidelines for Perioperative Antibiotic Selection and Administration From the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Antibiotic prophylaxis plays an important role in the prevention of surgical site infections. For healthcare institutions to receive reimbursement, compliance with current measures introduced by the Surgical Care Improvement Project is required. Anesthesia providers commonly administer prophylactic antibiotics and are in the position to provide valuable input in the perioperative setting. This review provides a summary of the most common antibiotics used in the surgical setting-cefazolin, clindamycin, and vancomycin-and their implications to the anesthesia provider, such as proper dosing, targeting bacteria, and side effects.

Morbidity and Mortality in Elective Total Knee Arthroplasty Following Surgical Care Improvement Project Guidelines.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative myocardial infarctions and cardiac complications are leading causes of mortality after noncardiac surgery. In an effort to improve patient safety, the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) implemented guidelines concerning administration of ß-blockers therapy aimed to reduce cardiac complications. METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was queried for 759,819 elective total knee arthroplasties performed from 2003 to 2011. Incidence of cardiac complications, mortality, and risk factors for cardiac complications was determined before and after SCIP implementation. RESULTS: The incidence of cardiac events after total knee arthroplasty remained stable at 9%. The incidence and mortality of postoperative stroke, myocardial infarction, and cardiac arrest significantly decreased. Mortality after cardiac complications decreased by 50%. CONCLUSION: After the implementation of SCIP guidelines, there was a greater than 50% reduction in mortality and a significant decrease in fatal postoperative stroke, heart failure, and cardiac arrest.

Impact of antibiotic prophylaxis for intrathecal baclofen pump surgery in pediatric patients.

OBJECT This study explored antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) in pediatric patients undergoing intrathecal baclofen pump (ITBP) surgery and factors associated with perioperative AP compliance with clinical guidelines. METHODS Data were obtained from the Pediatric Health Information System. The study cohort comprised patients who underwent ITBP surgery within 3 days of admission, between July 1, 2004, and March 31, 2014, with a minimum prior screening period and follow-up of 180 days. Exclusion criteria were prior infection, antibiotic use within 30 days of admission, and/or missing financial data. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regressions were used to determine factors associated with compliance with AP guidelines in ITBP surgeries. RESULTS A total of 1,534 patients met the inclusion criteria; 91.5% received AP and 37.6% received dual coverage or more. Overall bundled compliance comprised 2 components: 1) perioperative antibiotic administration and 2) < 24-hour postoperative antibiotic course. The most frequently used antibiotics in surgery were cefazolin (n = 873, 62.2%) and vancomycin (n = 351, 25%). Documented bundled AP compliance rates were 70.2%, 62.0%, 66.0%, and 55.2% in West, South, Midwest, and Northeast regions of the US, respectively. Compared with surgeries in the Northeast, procedures carried out in the West (OR 2.0, 95% C11.4-2.9, p < 0.001), Midwest (OR 1.6, 95% C11.1-2.3, p = 0.007), and South (OR 1.5, 95% C11.1-2.0, p = 0.021) were more likely to have documented AP compliance. Black (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.55-1.00, p = 0.05) and Hispanic (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.47-0.86, p = 0.004) patients were less likely to have documented AP compliance in ITBP surgeries than white patients. There were no significant differences in compliance rate by age, sex, type of insurance, and diagnosis. AP process measures were associated with shorter length of stay, lower hospitalization costs, and lower 6-month rates of surgical infection/complication. One of the 2 noncompliance subgroups, missed preoperative antibiotic administration, was correlated with a significantly higher 6-month surgical complication/infection rate (27.03%) compared with bundled compliance (20.00%, p = 0.021). For the other subgroup, prolonged antibiotic use > 24 hours postoperatively, the rate was insignificantly higher (22.00%, p = 0.368). Thus, of direct relevance to practicing clinicians, missed preoperative antibiotics was associated with 48% higher risk of adverse complication/infection outcome in a 6-month time frame. Adjusted hospitalization costs associated with baclofen pump surgery differed significantly (p < 0.001) with respect to perioperative antibiotic practices: 22.83, 29.10, 37.66 (× 1000 USD) for bundled compliance, missed preoperative antibiotics, and prolonged antibiotic administration, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Significant variation in ITBP antibiotic prophylaxis was found. Documented AP compliance was associated with higher value of care, showing favorable clinical and financial outcomes. Of most impact to clinical outcome, missed preoperative antibiotics was significantly associated with higher risk of 6-month surgical complication/infection. Prolonged antibiotic use was associated with significantly higher hospital costs compared with those with overall bundled antibiotic compliance. Future research is warranted to examine factors associated with practice variation and how AP compliance is associated with outcomes and quality, aiming for improving delivery of care to pediatric patients undergoing ITBP procedures.

Clinical factors associated with venous thromboembolism risk in patients undergoing craniotomy.

OBJECT Patients undergoing craniotomy are at risk for developing venous thromboembolism (VTE). The safety of anticoagulation in these patients is not clear. The authors sought to identify risk factors predictive of VTE in patients undergoing craniotomy. METHODS The authors reviewed a national surgical quality database, the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Craniotomy patients were identified by current procedural terminology code. Clinical factors were analyzed to identify associations with VTE. RESULTS Four thousand eight hundred forty-four adult patients who underwent craniotomy were identified. The rate of VTE in the cohort was 3.5%, including pulmonary embolism in 1.4% and deep venous thrombosis in 2.6%. A number of factors were found to be statistically significant in multivariate binary logistic regression analysis, including craniotomy for tumor, transfer from acute care hospital, age ≥ 60 years, dependent functional status, tumor involving the CNS, sepsis, emergency surgery, surgery time ≥ 4 hours, postoperative urinary tract infection, postoperative pneumonia, on ventilator ≥ 48 hours postoperatively, and return to the operating room. Patients were assigned a score based on how many of these factors they had (minimum score 0, maximum score 12). Increasing score was predictive of increased VTE incidence, as well as risk of mortality, and time from surgery to discharge. CONCLUSIONS Patients undergoing craniotomy are at low risk of developing VTE, but this risk is increased by preoperative medical comorbidities and postoperative complications. The presence of more of these clinical factors is associated with progressively increased VTE risk; patients possessing a VTE Risk Score of ≥ 5 had a greater than 20-fold increased risk of VTE compared with patients with a VTE score of 0.

Description of a multidisciplinary initiative to improve SCIP measures related to pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis compliance: a single-center success story.

BACKGROUND: The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) was launched in 2005. The core prophylactic perioperative antibiotic guidelines were created due to recognition of the impact of proper perioperative prophylaxis on an estimated annual one million inpatient days and $1.6 billion in excess health care costs secondary to preventable surgical site infections (SSIs). An internal study was conducted to create low cost, standardized processes on an institutional level to improve compliance with prophylactic antibiotic administration. METHODS: We assessed the impact of auditing and notifying providers of SCIP errors on overall compliance with inpatient antibiotic guidelines and on net financial gain or loss to a large tertiary center between March 1st 2010 and September 31st 2013. We hypothesized that direct physician-to-physician feedback would result in significant compliance improvements. RESULTS: Through physician notification, our hospital was able to significantly improve SCIP compliance and emphasis on patient safety within a year of intervention implementation. The hospital earned an additional $290,612 in 2011 and $209,096 in 2012 for re-investment in patient care initiatives. CONCLUSIONS: Provider education and direct notification of SCIP prophylactic antibiotic dosing errors resulted in improved compliance with national patient improvement guidelines. There were differences between the anesthesiology and surgery department feedback responses, the latter likely attributed to diverse surgical department sub-divisions, frequent changes in resident trainees and supervising attending staff, and the comparative ability. Provider notification of guideline non-compliance should be encouraged as standard practice to improve patient safety. Also, the hospital experienced increased revenue for re-investment in patient care as a secondary result of provider notification.

Impact of implementation of the Surgical Care Improvement Project and future strategies for improving quality in surgery.

BACKGROUND: We present a comprehensive systematic review of the effect of Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures on surgical site infections (SSIs) as related to SCIP compliance. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature was performed on PubMed, Medline, and Cochrane database group using their own search engines. Keywords used were Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), adherence, compliance, surgical site infection (SSI), infection bundle, antibiotics, perioperative antibiotics, and combinations thereof. Furthermore, reference lists of selected articles were cross-searched for additional literature. Papers published from January 1, 1998 to January 1, 2014 were included. RESULTS: A comprehensive analysis of these data demonstrated an 18% decrease in the odds of developing SSI and a cumulative 4% decrease in SSI. The largest increases in compliance for individual SCIP measures were reported between 2004 and 2006. However, compliance with multiple measures simultaneously had the sharpest increase between 2006 and 2009 without a definitive asymptote ascertained from the current data. CONCLUSIONS: These results represent some positive progress toward the SCIP task force's 2006 goal of a 25% decrease in SSI by 2010. Suggestions for improved future papers in this area were also added.

Surgical Process Improvement: Impact of a Standardized Care Model With Electronic Decision Support to Improve Compliance With SCIP Inf-9.

The absence of standardization in surgical care process, exemplified in a "solution shop" model, can lead to unwarranted variation, increased cost, and reduced quality. A comprehensive effort was undertaken to improve quality of care around indwelling bladder catheter use following surgery by creating a "focused factory" model within the cardiac surgical practice. Baseline compliance with Surgical Care Improvement Inf-9, removal of urinary catheter by the end of surgical postoperative day 2, was determined. Comparison of baseline data to postintervention results showed clinically important reductions in the duration of indwelling bladder catheters as well as marked reduction in practice variation. Following the intervention, Surgical Care Improvement Inf-9 guidelines were met in 97% of patients. Although clinical quality improvement was notable, the process to accomplish this-identification of patients suitable for standardized pathways, protocol application, and electronic systems to support the standardized practice model-has potentially greater relevance than the specific clinical results.

Choice of intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis for colorectal surgery does matter.

BACKGROUND: The Surgical Care Improvement Program endorses mandatory compliance with approved intravenous prophylactic antibiotics; however, oral antibiotics are optional. We hypothesized that surgical site infection (SSI) rates may vary depending on the choice of antibiotic prophylaxis. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study of elective colorectal procedures using Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP) and SSI outcomes data was linked to the Office of Informatics and Analytics (OIA) and Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) antibiotic data from 2005 to 2009. Surgical site infection rates by type of IV antibiotic agent alone (IV) or in combination with oral antibiotic (IV + OA) were determined. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the association between type of antibiotic prophylaxis and SSI for the entire cohort and stratified by use of oral antibiotics. RESULTS: After 5,750 elective colorectal procedures, 709 SSIs (12.3%) developed within 30 days. Oral antibiotic + IV (n = 2,426) had a lower SSI rate than IV alone (n = 3,324) (6.3% vs 16.7%, p < 0.0001). There was a significant difference in the SSI rate based on type of preoperative IV antibiotic given (p ≤ 0.0001). Generalized estimating equations adjusting for significant covariates of age, body mass index, procedure work relative value units, and operation duration demonstrated an independent protective effect of oral antibiotics (odds ratio [OR] 0.37, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.46), as well as increased rates of SSI associated with ampicillin/sulbactam (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.37 to 3.56) and second generation cephalosporins (cefoxitin, OR 2.50, 95% CI 1.83 to 3.42; cefotetan, OR 2.70, 95% CI 1.72 to 4.22) when compared with first generation cephalosporin/metronidazole. CONCLUSIONS: The choice of IV antibiotic was related to the SSI rate; however, oral antibiotics were associated with reduced SSI rate for every antibiotic class.

What is the quality of reporting of studies of interventions to increase compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis?

BACKGROUND: Despite studies reporting successful interventions to increase antibiotic prophylaxis compliance, surgical site infections remain a significant problem. The reasons for this lack of improvement are unknown. This review evaluates the internal and external validity of quality improvement studies of interventions to increase surgical antibiotic prophylaxis compliance. STUDY DESIGN: Three investigators independently performed systematic literature searches and selected eligible studies that evaluated interventions to improve perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis timing, type, and/or discontinuation. Studies published before the Surgical Infection Prevention project inception in 2002 were excluded. Each study was assessed based on modified criteria for evaluating quality improvement studies (Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence) and for facilitating implementation of evidence into practice (Reach-Efficacy-Adoption-Implementation-Maintenance). RESULTS: Forty-six articles met inclusion criteria; 93% reported improvement in antibiotic prophylaxis compliance. Surgical site infections were evaluated in 50% of studies and 65% reported an improvement. Less than 5% of studies used randomization, allocation concealment, or blinding. Nine percent of studies described efforts to minimize bias in the design results and analysis and 13% described a sample size calculation. Approximately one-third of studies described participant adoption of the intervention (26%), factors affecting generalizability (33%), or implementation barriers (37%). Most studies (80%) used multiple interventions; no single intervention was associated with change in compliance. Studies with the lowest baseline compliance showed the greatest improvement, regardless of the intervention(s). CONCLUSIONS: The methodology and reporting of quality improvement studies on perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis is suboptimal, and factors that would improve generalizability of successful intervention implementation are infrequently reported. Clinicians should use caution in applying the results of these studies to their general practice.

Surgeon-specific performance reports in general surgery: an observational study of initial implementation and adoption.

BACKGROUND: As national quality initiatives are increasing requirements for individual physician data, our department of surgery initiated a surgeon-specific reporting (SSR) program to assess the value of personal knowledge on individual performance quality. We sought to evaluate the use of SSR as a tool to enable surgeons to assess and improve their clinical performance, and to identify barriers to use of their reports. STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative research design involving semistructured interviews of surgeons who received performance reports derived from National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) core measures and hospital administrative data. Transcripts were analyzed by the constant comparative method. RESULTS: Twenty-four of 39 surgeons (61.5%) who received their SSRs agreed to be interviewed and 23 were interviewed. About half (11 of 23) demonstrated comprehension of the data validity, accuracy, or complexity. Of these, 6 took steps to validate data or improve performance. Most respondents believed SSR would lead to performance improvement through knowledge of personal outcomes and peer comparison; however, they perceived SSR had limitations, such as small sample size and potential coding errors, and could lead to unintended consequences, such as inaccurate interpretation by others and surgeons' aversion to selecting high-risk patients. Respondents also suggested logistical improvements to reporting methods, such as report format and definitions of metrics. CONCLUSIONS: Surgeon-specific reporting has the potential to empower surgeons to improve their practice; however, more surgeons need efficient guidelines to understand the metrics. Our findings can be used to guide development of more SSR programs. Whether SSR programs lead to improvements in surgical outcomes is a matter for future research.