Surgical Wound Infection Surveillance

Abstract

Measuring the frequency of a defined outcome flaw for a series of patients undergoing operative procedures generates information for performance evaluation. Such data influence decisions to improve care if used responsibly. Wound infection (WI), bacterial invasion of the incision, is the most common infectious complication of surgical care and WI prevention has value because the complication affects economic, patient satisfaction, and patient functional status outcomes. WI frequency, one kind of surgical outcome flaw rate, is traditionally used to judge one aspect of surgical care quality. At the author's institution, global WI surveillance was conducted without interruption for 20 years. Results for 85 260 consecutive inpatient operations performed during the period showed that secular changes in infection rates occurred but were not necessarily caused by surgical care quality decrements.

Zusammenfassung

Mithilfe der Bestimmung von definierten Ergebnisfehlern ist es möglich, eine Leistungsstatistik für Patienten, die einem chirurgischen Eingriff unterworfen werden, zu erstellen. Die Daten erlauben Entscheidungen, die Behandlungsqualität zu verbessern. Die häufigste infektiöse Komplikation nach chirurgischer Therapie stellt die Wundinfektion dar, definiert als eine bakterielle Invasion der Inzision. Die Wichtigkeit der Verhinderung der Wundinfektion ergibt sich aus ökonomischen Gründen sowie aufgrund der Patientenzufriedenheit und des Funktionsstatus bei Entlassung. Die Häufigkeit der Wundinfektion wird traditionell als Maß für einen Ergebnisfehler angegeben, um so die chirurgische Behandlungsqualität zu bewerten. In der Institution des Autors wurde eine globale Wundinfektionsüberwachung ohne Unterbrechung für 20 Jahre durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse bei konsekutiver Verfolgung von 85 260 stationären Operationen zeigten zeitliche Schwankungen der Infektionsraten, die nicht zwangsweise durch eine abnehmende Qualität verursacht waren.

Key words

Surgical wound infection - surgical care improvement - incisional infection - quality improvement - surgical infection surveillance

Schlüsselwörter

Chirurgische Wundinfektion - Verbesserung der Behandlungsqualität - Infektion der Inzision - Überwachungsprogramm

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