Surgical infections
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Surgical infections · Dec 2011
Beyond core measures: identifying modifiable risk factors for prevention of surgical site infection after elective total abdominal hysterectomy.
Despite adherence to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) core measures for preventing surgical site infections (SSI), our institution has a >10% rate of SSI after total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH), higher than the 90(th) percentile for SSI rates published in the 2009 National Healthcare Safety Network report. ⋯ Blood transfusion was associated with SSI after TAH in our population. As it is a modifiable risk factor, larger multi-center studies are needed to confirm this result and determine appropriate transfusion thresholds.
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Surgical infections · Dec 2011
Factors associated with post-operative conversion to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus positivity or infection in initially MRSA-negative patients.
Hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with morbid, invasive infections and has been implicated in nearly every type of nosocomial infection. Our aim was to identify the risk factors for patient conversion from MRSA negativity pre-operatively to MRSA positivity post-operatively. ⋯ In pre-operatively MRSA-negative patients, age, SSI risk index, and vancomycin prophylaxis were significant factors for conversion to MRSA positivity post-operatively. Alternatives to vancomycin prophylaxis in non-colonized patients and optimization of patients' SSI risk factors should be considered before elective surgery.