What are Surgical Site Infections?
A Surgical Site Infection (SSI) is an infection in the area where surgery was done. Most SSIs involve the skin, but sometimes deep tissue or organs can become infected.
Why is this important?
Surgical site infections (SSIs) that occur after surgery can equate to longer hospital stays, difficult recovery and increased treatment costs.
How are we doing at preventing surgical site infections?
Antibiotics are often given to patients before surgery to prevent infection. Taking these antibiotics for more than 24 hours after routine surgery is usually not necessary. Continuing the medication longer than necessary can increase the risk of side effects such as stomach aches and serious types of diarrhea. Also, when antibiotics are used for too long, patients can develop resistance to them and the antibiotics won’t work as well.
The graph represents the number of patients who had their antibiotic discontinued at the right time after surgery. Higher percentages are better.
What efforts are in place to improve performance?
Every case that does not meet the standard is reviewed with the peri-op team to identify opportunities, trends and solutions.