Nursing Research: Lowering Rates of Infection in the Operating Room

Registered Nurses play a big role when it comes to patient care in the health care system. They use a systemic, dynamic way to collect and analyze data about a patient; we call this the assessment process (The Nursing Process, ANA, 2014). As a nurse you are not just seen as a caregiver, you are also seen as an advocate for patients who need to be cared for. We as Nurses have responsibilities such as knowing the laws, EMTALA, HIPPA, ADA and so on. Each of those laws gives us the guidelines of what we are expected as nurses.

One hundred fifty-seven thousand, five hundred – according to Infection Prevention Consultant Victoria Russo, 157,500 is the estimated number of hospital-associated, surgical site infections (SSIs) that occur annually (2017). Why does it matter? Shockingly, the number of deaths linked to SSIs annually is estimated to be around 8,205 (Russo, 2017). This means, on average, 5% of the individuals plagued by an SSI will pass away due to complications related to the acquired infection. With statistics like these, it’s hard to ignore the fact that surgical site infections are a significant problem in healthcare.

The occurrence of hospital acquired infections has become a norm in the health care system. Patients’ experiences of being infected with MRSA at a hospital and subsequently isolated follows 6 patients in their experiences after becoming infected with methicillin- resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in an outbreak in Sweden. MRSA this is a staphylococcus bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotics such as penicillin, which was traditionally used to treat it (Vyas, 2015).

The proposed evidence-based practice change is to reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and/or multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) through the daily use of chlorhexidine-impregnated wipes or chlorhexidine soap among patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and medical-surgical units. Chlorhexidine gluconate is a broad-spectrum, antiseptic agent against several pathogens, such as S. aureus and enterococcus species (Climo et al., 2013, p. 534). Daily baths will be emphasized to patients with the current diagnosis of a HAIs, MDROs or are currently and/or have chronic suppressed immune systems. Furthermore, providing education to staff and patients and their families regarding the prevention of HAIs and MDROs through the use of chlorhexidine bath products will help implement this EBP change.

The main aim CPI to provide practical advice and support to clinicians, managers and all health individual to use health care data or evidence to improve the quality and safety of health care system in a systematic way (NSW health department, 2006). Clinical Practice Improvement Model and tool (Plan – Do – Study – Act) will be used below

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

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

There are different types of nosocomial or healthcare associated infections. These are categorized according to the site of infection and they include pneumonia, gastrointestinal illness, urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections, and surgical site infections (CDC, 2015). This paper seeks to review the current practice of surgical site infection prevention protocol as well as seeks to proffer recommended

The issue is the increase in the number central line infections on the general Medical-Surgical floor. The method used to determine the issue on the Medical-Surgical unit is personal and professional experience. The nursing staff on the Medical-Surgical unit has recently experienced an increase in patients with central lines. This is clinically significant, because an increase in central lines increases the risk for increased central line infections. Infections in the bloodstream are attributed to increased length of stay and increasing costs, including the reduction in reimbursement to the facilities (Medina et al., 2014). Reducing central line infections will reduce hospital costs, reduce stress for the patients, and allow the nursing staff to provide patient safe practice.

After graduating from high school, I am striving to go to a four year university to pursue my dreams of becoming an operating room nurse. My preferred university is California State University, Sacramento for reasons that include family, maturing as an adult and getting the education the school provides for me to succeed in my career. Knowing that this school is a great distance from my hometown, my plans of going to my dream school aren't promised for me. That being, I will apply to other schools such as Csusb, Ucla, Csusd etc. I have already looked into which schools will provide the material I need to learn and receive to become a registered nurse and then an operating room nurse. Understanding that not only is my main choice far it is also

It is very crucial for surgical site infection (SSI) be prevented since they are associated with increased antibiotics use, high healthcare costs, prolonged hospital stay, increased patient discomfort and they may also result to patient’s death. Completing a full clinical assessment is very important in identification of risk factors for developing SSI such as patient-related (endogenous) and the environment (exogenous) factors. Some of the risk factors are modifiable such as obesity, malnutrition, and tobacco use (Harrington, 2014).

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

Surgical site infection (SSI) has been the most frequently occurring, healthcare-associated infection (HAI), causing 21.8% of reported infections in the United States (Magill et al. 2014). Despite the advances made in antimicrobial drugs, asepsis, sterilization and operative techniques, SSI continues to be a major problem in all branches of surgery in the hospitals (Saeed et al. 2015).

Hospital-acquired infection can be devastating not only to the patient, but also to the hospital. This also impacts how much the facility receives as payment or reimbursement from healthcare insurance and/or Medicare. Curlej (2016) wrote a quantitative descriptive study about implementing the guidelines to decrease central line infections. Curlej (2016) conducted the study at a 486-bed rural, level 1 trauma, teaching hospital in Pennsylvania. This hospital has a 486 bed occupancy, which means that at a certain time the hospital has this particular number of bed that is “set up, equipped, staffed, and available for patient care” (Oachs, LaTour, and American Health Information Management, 2014, p. 488). The patients included in their study were patients with central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) admitted to the hospital from July 2007 to June 2010. The total number of patients included in the study was 76. The author utilized the database of CDC National Healthcare and Safety Network to obtain the CLABSI rate (p. 291). However, in order to determine the CLABSI rate of the facility, the researcher has to use observation strategy such as compliance with specific SHEA guidelines surrounding central line insertion, maintenance, and education of the personnel. Nurses’ documentation were analyzed.

Changes in the design of hospitals could potentially reduce healthcare-associated infections. It is troubling to see that hospital related infections are causing pain, suffering, and even death. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in 2011 there were 722,000 healthcare-associated infections with 75,000 of those patients dying during their hospitalization from those dieses (“Healthcare-associated Infections”). In fact, these infection rates can be drastically decreased by changing the way hospitals are designed. One way to reduce hospital related infections by changing the design is by putting patients in single-bed rooms. This reduces the amount of possible infections that are introduced to the patients. Infection could be introduced in many ways including surgery, IV’s, other patients, and nurses and doctors. AACN Bold voices said that the Healthcare-related infections decreased by 50 percent when patients were placed in private rooms (“Better Hospital Design Improves Patient Outcomes”). If infection rates are so high but can be lowered simply by having one patient per room, it is vital this be changed to become the new accepted