title: A Comprehensive Intervention Associated With Reduced Surgical Site Infections Among Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery Patients, Including Those With Delayed Closure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Surgical site infections (SSIs) cause significant morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing cardiovascular (CV) surgery. Following an increase in SSIs in this population, driven by a high rate in those with delayed closure, we implemented an intervention to reduce these infections and assessed the intervention using both population- and patient-level analyses.
  
  
  METHODS
  An intervention drawing from existing guidelines and targeting preoperative preparation of the patient, prophylactic antibiotics, and postoperative incision care was implemented. Special attention was paid to standardizing the care of the incision of patients with delayed closure. National Healthcare Safety Network criteria were used to prospectively identify SSIs. Population-level intervention effect was assessed using interrupted time series. To assess intervention adherence and effect in our patient population, retrospective chart review was performed on a cohort of patients undergoing cardiac procedures pre- and postintervention. Multivariate analysis was used to assess risk of SSI at the patient level.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Timely preoperative prophylactic antibiotic dosing increased from 60% preintervention to 92% postintervention, and redosing during prolonged surgeries increased from 5% to 79% (both, P < .001). At the population-level, a decrease of 6.7 infections per 100 surgeries per 6 months was observed directly following the intervention (P = .002). The SSI rate decreased from 40% to 0.8% (P < .001) in patients with delayed closure and from 4.3% to 1.8% (P = .02) in patients with immediate closure. In multivariate analyses, surgery prior to the intervention was the strongest predictor for SSI (incidence rate ratio, 3.98; 95% confidence interval, 1.59 to 9.97).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our intervention decreased SSIs in pediatric CV surgery patients, particularly those with delayed closures.
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, and.
authors.forename: Amanda L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, and.
authors.forename: Emily T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, and Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle.
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, and Departments of Pediatrics, and.
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jeffries
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, and Departments of Pediatrics, and.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, and.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, and Departments of Pediatrics, and danielle.zerr@seattlechildrens.org.
authors.forename: Danielle M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Zerr