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Surgical site infections most common during summer
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Data published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology suggest that surgical site infections following common surgical procedures may be highest during summertime.
“Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the most common health care-associated infections in the United States,” Michael J. Durkin, MD, infectious disease specialist at Duke University Medical Center, and colleagues wrote. “SSIs account for 31% of health care-associated infections and constitute $3.5 billion to $10 billion annually in health care costs. Despite the tremendous impact of SSIs on health care, however, our knowledge of some SSI risk factors remains poorly understood.”
The researchers conducted a retrospective study of surgical surveillance data from 20 hospitals affiliated with Duke Infection Control Outreach Network between Jan. 1, 2007 and Dec. 31, 2012. The data included 441,428 surgical procedures and 4,543 subsequent SSIs. The most common pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus (1,666 infections), including MRSA (867), Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (805); coagulase negative Staphylococcus spp. (447); and Escherichia coli (451).
Michael J. Durkin
The overall rate of SSI infections was higher during the summer compared to nonsummer periods (Prevalence RR [PRR]: 1.11; 95% CI, 1.04-1.19), with higher summer incidence for both nonspinal (PRR: 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01-1.16) and spinal (PRR: 1.29; 95% CI, 1.08-1.52) surgeries.
“Our large, multicenter study demonstrated that rates of SSI after surgical procedures commonly performed at community hospitals were highest during the summer months,” Durkin and colleagues wrote. “This seasonal effect was present among both gram-positive and gram-negative SSI and for spinal and non-spinal surgical procedures.”
In a previous seasonal study, Argamany and colleagues retrospectively analyzed 2.3 million cases of Clostridium difficile infection between 2001 and 2010 in the CDC’s National Hospital Discharge Survey and found spring had the most cases (6.2 discharges/1,000 total discharges), followed by winter and summer (both 5.9/1,000) and fall (5.6/1,000). Adults and older adults followed overall trends, according to the researchers, whereas the incidence of pediatric C. difficile infection was greatest in winter. – by David Jwanier
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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