Effect of Standardized Bundle Care and Bundle Compliance on Reducing Surgical Site Infections: A Pragmatic...

BACKGROUND Care bundles for infection control consist of a set of evidence-based measures to prevent infections. This retrospective study aimed to compare surgical site infections (SSIs) from a single hospital surveillance system between 2017 and 2020, before and after implementing a standardized care bundle across specialties in 2019. It also aimed to assess whether bundle compliance affects the rate of SSIs. MATERIAL AND METHODS A care bundle consisting of 4 components (peri-operative antibiotics use, peri-operative glycemic control, pre-operative skin preparation, and maintaining intra-operative body temperature) was launched in 2019. We compared the incidence rates of SSIs, standardized infection ratio (SIR), and clinical outcomes of surgical procedures enrolled in the surveillance system before and after introducing the bundle care. The level of bundle compliance, defined as the number of fully implemented bundle components, was evaluated. RESULTS We included 6059 procedures, with 2010 in the pre-bundle group and 4049 in the post-bundle group. Incidence rates of SSIs (1.7% vs 1.0%, P=0.013) and SIR (0.8 vs 1.48, P<0.01) were significantly lower in the post-bundle group. The incidence of SSIs was significantly lower when all bundle components were fully adhered to, compared with when only half of the components were adhered to (0.3% vs 4.0%, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS SSIs decreased significantly after the application of a standardized care bundle for surgical procedures across specialties. Full adherence to all bundle components was the key to effectively reducing the risk of surgical site infections.