Essay On Surgical Site Infections

In recent years, surgical site infections are verified as one of the most errors that are common in the healthcare; however, they are also preventable. These research papers will synthesis information about surgical infections, patient experience, hospital-acquired conditions and achievement of expected treatment for specific clinical diagnoses. A surgical site infection is an infected condition in the body after surgery has occurred. Surgical site infections are caused by germs, called bacteria. Different types of bacteria from the environment may cause a delay in healing. The infection may come from surgical tools or bacteria on the skin if it is not clean correctly. Healthcare professionals use certain guidelines and

Burke J.P. (2003). Infection control- a problem for patient safety. New England Journal Medicine, 348(7):651-656.

Elimination of HAI’s are a top priority for many healthcare related organizations and as such, the reduction of certain types of HAIs have been achieved. On the national level, the HAI Progress Report states that there has been, “Au 46 percent decrease in central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and a 19 percent decrease in select surgical site infections (SSIs) between 2008 and 2013” as well as “an 8 percent decrease in hospital-onset MRSA bacteremia and a 10 percent decrease in hospital-onset C. difficile infections between 2011 and 2013” (CDC, 2015).

Patients have varying susceptibility to develop an infection after exposure to a pathogenic organism. Some people have innate protective mechanisms and will never develop symptomatic disease and others exposed to the same microorganism may establish a commensal relationship and retain the organisms as an asymptomatic carrier (colonization) or develop an active disease process. Intrinsic risk factors predispose patients to HAIs. The higher likelihood of infection is reflected in vulnerable patients who are immunocompromised, underlying diseases, severity of illness, immunosuppressive medications, or medical/surgical treatments (Bauman, 2011). Extrinsic risk factors include surgical or other invasive procedures, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions (e.g., invasive devices, implanted foreign bodies, organ transplantations, immunosuppressive medications), and personnel exposures. In addition to providing a portal of entry for microbial colonization or infection, they also facilitate transfer of pathogens from one part of the patient’s body to another, from health care worker to patient, or from patient to health care

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to review the updated Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) recommended practices for prevention of transmissible infections in the perioperative practice setting to help perioperative nurses apply the recommendations in daily practice.

Hospitals report data to The Centers for Disease Control and based on the research and viewing of the data they have concurred that “Surgical site infections are the second most common type of adverse events occurring in hospitalized patient. While advances have been made in infection control practices, including improved operating room ventilation, sterilization methods, barriers, surgical technique, and availability of antimicrobial prophylaxis, SSIs remain a

After many years, research finally validated Semmelweis’s theory and showed that diseases and infections were spread from person to person by various forms. Hospital practices needed to change their policies after it was shown that infections spread by droplet, air, and contaminated surfaces. It was not long before the public realized that there are infinite opportunities to obtain infections in healthcare facilities. In order to create the most effective policies, they needed to investigate and determine potential problems. Some of the most common HAIs include: central line-associated bloodstream infection, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, (CAUTI commonly known as UTI), surgical site infection (SSI), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Surgical site infections are considered preventable. Because such infections are considered preventable, there are legal consequences directly connected to such a condition. In this paper, I will discuss what an SSI is and the reasons on why it is considered to be preventable. I will also discuss the role of disclosure and legal implications that are related to SSIs, accreditation expectations, and continuous quality monitoring as it relates to SSIs.

In their systematic review and meta-analysis about the burden of health-care-associated infection Allegranzi et al., (2011), concluded that health care associated infections (HCAIs) are the most frequent threats to patient safety worldwide. Therefore, Raveis et al., (2014) established that minimizing HCAIs is every health care worker responsibility.

Results. Ten out of 19 studies showed a significant reduction of SSI incidence (George et al., 2016). Moreover, in four out of these 10 studies, subjects received the “preoperative universal decolonization” with CHG and mupirocin and a substantial decrease in SSI was noted in non-general surgery cases (i.e. cardiac and orthopedic surgery) (George et al., 2016). One study had to be deleted due to use of other skin antimicrobial agents and CHG was used for oral rinse instead (George et al., 2016).

The patient suffers the effects of the infection along with any long term issues associated with the infection. They do however, stand to win a settlement in court. The patient would more than likely sue for the costs of medical treatment along with pain and suffering. The goal would be to win a settlement in addition to having any future medical treatment

Research shows that Surgical site infections are preventable. According to the CDC, hand hygiene is the simplest approach to preventing the spread of infections and needs to be incorporated into the culture of the organization. Ensuring the use of infection control prevention is an important component of nursing care. Infection control prevention policies must be communicated undoubtedly to all employees. Staffers who do not comply must be re-educated to ensure that all are complying. Speaking up and pointing out that a nurse forgot to wash his or her hands, or notifying the surgical team that surgical instruments were not adequately cleaned may seem like small issues; but at the same time, not acknowledging a break in a sterile technique could mean the difference between life and death for a patient. One hospital that was struggling with high levels of infection related to surgical procedures, implemented a pre-procedure huddle as a team. This innovate way decreased the spread of infection and was a great way to improve the quality of care for patients. As mandated by the Joint commission, infection prevention personnel should provide multidisciplinary education on SSI prevention, to all team members, including

“Infections were identified using previously validated computerized algorithms” (Cohen et al., 2013). Cases of bloodstream infections were patients who had a positive blood culture in the presence of a negative culture for the same organism in another body site within the previous 2 weeks (Cohen et al., 2013). Cases of surgical site infections were patients who had a surgical procedure as demonstrated by an ICD-9 code and a positive surgical wound culture within 30 days after surgery (Cohen et al., 2013). For community-associated infections, data including age, gender, diagnoses, health history, and hospital admissions were identified. For hospital-associated infection, data including hospital admissions, ICD-9 codes, EMRs, MARs, and pre- and

Surgical Site Infections (SSI) has a plethora of risk factors with in the operating room (OR). It is considered a SSI if a patient returns to the hospital within 30 days post operation with a superficial incision complaining of pain or tenderness or showing symptoms of purulent draining. If a patient has a deep organ space incision they have 30-90 days post-operative to be classified as a SSI. Surgical site infections are of the utmost concern because they account for the majority of nosocomial infection, 14% to 20%. Annually, they cost the United States roughly $3.5 to $10 billion in increased hospital costs, or $400 to 30,000 per infection (Bohl, et al., 2016). Organizations strive very hard to have all of their patients leave and to

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the leading type of infections among hospitalized patients. There are so many reasons why people go for surgery; it can be an emergency reasons or elective. According to Beaver, (2008) a primary concern in healthcare today is the prevention of infections. Careful handling of the surgical equipment reduces the chances of surgical site infections, for instance equipment sterilization and careful hand hygiene of surgical equipment.