Wound infections after hysterectomy: opportunities for practice improvement

This study was designed to determine the frequency of surgical site infection development after discharge from the hospital after abdominal or vaginal hysterectomy and the frequency of use of antimicrobial prophylaxis in this patient group.

A prospective cohort study was performed on patients undergoing abdominal or vaginal hysterectomy between February 1 and December 31, 1995. Surgeons were contacted 1 month after the operations to determine which patients had acquired surgical site infections. Surgical site infection rates were calculated according to procedure, surgeon, and National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance system risk categories. A retrospective pharmacy record review was conducted to determine antimicrobial prophylaxis use according to procedure and surgeon.

A total of 763 cases were surveyed; 55 (7.2%) met criteria for postoperative surgical site infection (7.7% abdominal and 4.5% vaginal hysterectomy). National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance system moderate-risk patients had significantly higher infection rates than did low-risk patients for both abdominal (p = 0.045) and vaginal (p = 0.05) procedures. Most patients (71.1%) were not given antimicrobial prophylaxis. There was a wide range of antimicrobial prophylaxis use by surgeon (3.6% to 94.4% of patients, p < 0.01).

Despite long-standing and widespread recommendations for antimicrobial prophylaxis before hysterectomy, most of our patients were operated on without such prophylaxis. Surveillance programs permit detailed review of patient care practices that may reveal opportunities for improvement.