Projects

Prevention of Surgical Site Infections

2006-2009
Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
PI: Lillian Kao

Project Description

Surgical site infections (SSIs) increase morbidity and costs, yet compliance with preventive guidelines as outlined by the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) is suboptimal. The objectives of this study are three-fold:

  1. To assess compliance and factors contributing to compliance with the SCIP infection prevention guidelines at 2 teaching hospitals with a shared administration
  2. To develop and implement a package of targeted interventions to increase compliance with these guidelines in laparotomy patients
  3. To rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention package using a staggered cohort design

Progress and Outcomes

The study has been completed along with a one-year follow-up.

Relevant Publications

  1. Kao LS, Thomas EJ. Navigating towards improved patient safety using aviation-based strategies. J Surg Res 2008; 145(2): 327-35. pubmed
  2. Kao LS, Lally KP, Thomas EJ, Tyson JE. Improving quality improvement: a methodologic framework for evaluating the effectiveness of surgical quality improvement. J Am Coll Surg 2009; 208(4): 621-6. pubmed
  3. Kao LS, Lew DF, Doyle P, Carrick MM, Jordan VS, Thomas EJ, and Lally KP. A tale of two hospitals: a staggered cohort study of targeted interventions to improve compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines. Surgery 2010; 148 (2): 255-62. pubmed
  4. Meeks DW, Lally KP, Carrick MM, Lew DF, Thomas EJ, Doyle PD, and Kao LS. Compliance with guidelines to prevent surgical site infections: as simple as 1-2-3? Am J Surg 2011 Jan; 201(1): 76-83. Epub 2010 Jun 22. pubmed
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