Decreasing Surgical Site Infections after Ventral Hernia Repair: A Quality-Improvement Initiative.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Surgical site infections (SSIs) remain prevalent after ventral hernia repair (VHR). In 2013-2014, a safety-net academic hospital initiated a two-pronged quality-improvement (QI) project: (1) Development and implementation of evidence-based guidelines; and (2) creation of a specialized hernia clinic to manage challenging patients and complex ventral hernias. Our objective was to decrease SSI rates after elective VHR.

Methods

The primary outcome was SSI 30 days post-operatively, which was assessed in aggregate and with a stratified analysis based on case complexity using the χ² test.

Results

A total of 399 patients in the pre-QI period and 390 patients in post-QI period (178 patients in general surgery clinics; 212 patients in the specialty hernia

SUBMITTER: Cherla DV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5649122 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature