Decreased Surgical Site Infection Rate in Hysterectomy

OBJECTIVE: We implemented a hysterectomy-specific surgical site infection prevention bundle after a higher-than-expected surgical site infection rate was identified at our institution. We evaluate how this bundle affected the surgical site infection rate, length of hospital stay, and 30-day postoperative readmission rate. METHODS: This is a quality improvement study featuring retrospective analysis of a prospectively implemented, multidisciplinary team-designed surgical site infection prevention bundle that consisted of chlorhexidine-impregnated preoperative wipes, standardized aseptic surgical preparation, standardized antibiotic dosing, perioperative normothermia, surgical dressing maintenance, and direct feedback to clinicians when the protocol was breached. RESULTS: There were 2,099 hysterectomies completed during the 33-month study period. There were 61 surgical site infections (4.51%) in the pre–full bundle implementation period and 14 (1.87%) in the post–full bundle implementation period; we found a sustained reduction in the proportion of patients experiencing surgical site infection during the last 8 months of the study period. After adjusting for clinical characteristics, patients who underwent surgery after full implementation were less likely to develop a surgical site infection (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.46, P =.01) than those undergoing surgery before full implementation. Multivariable regression analysis showed no statistically significant difference in postoperative days of hospital stay (adjusted mean ratio 0.95, P =.09) or rate of readmission for surgical site infection-specific indication (adjusted OR 2.65, P =.08) between the before and after full-bundle implementation periods. CONCLUSION: The multidisciplinary implementation of a gynecologic perioperative surgical site infection prevention bundle was associated with a significant reduction in surgical site infection rate in patients undergoing hysterectomy.