Infection

Surgical site infection

Richetta Butler

HCA375: Continuous Quality Monitoring & Accreditation (BGI1309A)

Instructor:  Jennifer Shultz

April 2, 2013

Surgical site infection

I chose to do my paper on the hospital-acquired condition of surgical site infections. In this paper I will discuss what a surgical site infection is, why it is considered preventable, the legal implications related to the patient, the role disclosure plays, accreditation expectations, and analyze the cost of continuous quality monitoring as it relates to quality. Surgical site infections account for 40 % of all hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and are unnecessary and highly preventable.

Use of antibiotics is fundamental in preventing surgical site infection and includes three core elements: 1. appropriate selection, 2. timing of the first dose, 3. and discontinuation postoperatively. It used to be the standard practice to “shave and prep” a patient prior to surgery, but a study done in 1992 revealed that surgical site infections were 50% lower in surgery patients whose hair was removed with clippers rather than a razor. One of the most common complaints from surgery patients is being cold in the holding area, operating room, and the post anesthesia care unit (PACU). This is uncomfortable and can increase risk of complications; such as surgical site infections. Glucose control is also important as a method for decreasing surgical site infections (Frances, 2005).

Guidelines for preventing surgical site infection are at the preoperative stage, intra-operative stage, and postoperative stage.

* Approximately half of all SSIs are considered preventable. In an attempt to reduce these HAIs from occurring, medical societies and government agencies have developed protocols for healthcare providers to follow. To prevent SSIs, doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers should take the following steps:

* Give the patient antibiotics before surgery starts. In most cases,...