What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Letter. Population: Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery (n=2231). Intervention: Comprehensive infection control program vs. Historical controls (different time-period). Primary outcome: Total surgical-site infections.

December 1, 1999Infection Control and Hospital EpidemiologyOpen Access

Results of a Comprehensive Infection Control Program for Reducing Surgical-Site Infections in Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery: Further Data From the Authors

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Key result

A comprehensive infection control program significantly decreased total surgical-site infections in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Why the study?

Does a comprehensive infection control program reduce surgical-site infections in patients undergoing CABG surgery?

Structured PICO

Does a comprehensive infection control program reduce surgical-site infections in patients undergoing CABG surgery?

Population

2,231 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery at a single center evaluated between 1991 and 1994.

Intervention

Comprehensive infection control program, including feedback to surgical assistants regarding specific surgical-site infection rates, prospective database monitoring, and infection control staff rounds 2-3 times per week.

Comparator

Historical controls (individuals from a different time-period).

Outcome

Total surgical-site infections.safety

Limitations

Sample size was too small to have the power to detect a clinically important change in deep chest infections.
Potential for time-series auto-correlation which could violate the assumption of independent events in regression models.
Use of historical controls means factors other than the infection control program could have caused the infection rates to decrease.
Sample size too small to have power to detect a clinically important change in deep chest infections
Potential for time-series auto-correlation violating independence of events
Use of historical controls means other factors could have changed over time and caused the observed change in rates

Implication

A comprehensive infection control program was associated with a reduction in total surgical-site infections, primarily driven by a decrease in leg infections, following CABG surgery.

Abstract

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Cite This Study

McConkey et al. (1999) conducted a letter in Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery (n=2,231). Comprehensive infection control program vs. Historical controls (different time-period) was evaluated on Total surgical-site infections. A comprehensive infection control program significantly decreased total surgical-site infections in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a6de352f44fa9f079dbe29e https://doi.org/10.1086/501585