Surgical site infections can complicate surgeries and contribute to higher morbidity and mortality rates, but a new study in the American Journal of Infection Control shows infection control measures and antibiotic stewardship can reduce SSIs in cardiac surgery patients.
Researchers assessed the influence of a five-year infection control and antibiotic stewardship intervention between 2009 and 2014. They compared outcomes for more than 6,500 procedures at a tertiary care public institution during a preintervention period and a postintervention period.
The study results found the overall combined SSI rate for patients undergoing a coronary artery bypass graft, valve replacement, or both, decreased 66.3 percent after the interventions, from 11.9 percent to 4 percent. A notable decrease of nearly 50 percent relative rate was also observed in overall, sternum, leg, CABG, and combined CABG and valve SSI rates after the interventions.
Moreover, the antibiotic stewardship intervention increased overall conformity to the institution's internal surgical prophylaxis protocol by 46.8 percent, from 39.8 percent to 86.6 percent.
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