Surgical-Site Infection Prevention After Hysterectomy: Use of a Consensus Bundle to Guide Improvement

Area of Science:

• Gynecologic Surgery
• Infection Prevention and Control
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Hysterectomy is a common procedure with significant risk of surgical-site infections (SSI).
• SSIs increase patient morbidity, mortality, readmission rates, and healthcare costs.
• Standardizing preoperative care is crucial for mitigating SSI risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance standardization of preoperative infection prevention education.
• To implement preoperative chlorhexidine (CHG) bathing for hysterectomy patients.
• To decrease the incidence of SSIs following hysterectomy.

Main Methods:

• Review of SSI data for hysterectomy patients.
• Utilized tracer methodology to compare current practices with the Council on Patient Safety's bundle.
• Implemented CHG bathing and standardized patient education, monitoring adherence and SSI rates post-implementation.

Main Results:

• High compliance with CHG bathing protocol and patient education delivery.
• Positive patient satisfaction reported regarding the preoperative process.
• Observed a reduction in deep or organ/space SSIs from 8 in 2016 to 3 in 2018.

Conclusions:

• Standardizing preoperative infection prevention aligned with safety bundles improves care quality.
• Preoperative CHG bathing and education are effective strategies for reducing SSIs after hysterectomy.
• Adherence to evidence-based protocols enhances patient outcomes in gynecologic surgery.