• Deidre L Wyrick, Samuel D Smith, and Melvin S Dassinger.
• Department of Pediatric Surgery, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, AR, 72202, USA. Electronic address: dlwyrick@uams.edu.
• Am. J. Surg. 2015 Dec 1; 210 (6): 1051-4; discussion 1054-5.

BackgroundSurgical wound classification (SWC) is a component of surgical site infection risk stratification. Studies have demonstrated that SWC is often incorrectly documented. This study examines the accuracy of SWC after implementation of a multifaceted plan targeted at accurate documentation.MethodsA reviewer examined operative notes of 8 pediatric operations and determined SWC for each case. This SWC was compared with nurse-documented SWC. Percent agreement pre- and postintervention was compared. Analysis was performed using chi-square and a P value less than .05 was significant.ResultsPreintervention concordance was 58% (112/191) and postintervention was 83% (163/199, P = .001). Appendectomy accuracy was 28% and increased to 80% (P = .0005). Fundoplication accuracy increased from 44% to 84% (P = .016) and gastrostomy tube from 56% to 100% (P = .0002). The most accurate operation preintervention was pyloromyotomy and postintervention was gastrostomy tube and inguinal hernia. The least accurate pre- and postintervention was cholecystectomy.ConclusionImplementation of a multifaceted approach improved accuracy of documented SWC.Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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