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Published on: October 20, 2012

Surgical site infection as a surrogate marker of physician impairment

Robert J Sherertz1, Tobi B Karchmer

  • 1Department of Infection Control, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. sherertz@wfubmc.edu

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology
|September 29, 2009
PubMed

Insights

A surgeon

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Hepatology
  • Surgical Infections

Background:

  • Surgical site infections (SSI) pose a significant risk to patient safety.
  • Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection treatment can have adverse effects.
  • Implant-associated infections require careful investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate an outbreak of surgical site infections.
  • To determine the potential link between HCV treatment and surgical infections.
  • To analyze infection rates in relation to a specific surgeon's practice.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of surgical site infections over a 12-month outbreak period.
  • Comparison of infection rates during the outbreak, baseline, and follow-up periods.
  • Statistical comparison of infection rates with peer surgeons.

Main Results:

  • A 12-month outbreak revealed 14 (9.5%) surgical site infections among 148 patients of surgeon X.
  • The SSI rate during the outbreak was 8-fold higher than baseline or follow-up periods (P = .001).
  • The SSI rate was significantly higher compared to peer surgeons (P = .02).

Conclusions:

  • The study identified an implant-associated outbreak of surgical site infections.
  • A potential link exists between adverse effects of hepatitis C virus treatment and surgical infections.
  • Findings highlight the importance of monitoring surgical site infections and considering patient treatment histories.

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