Brian F Leas

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guideline for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infection, 2017

Importance The human and financial costs of treating surgical site infections (SSIs) are increasing. The number of surgical procedures performed in the United States continues to rise, and surgical patients are initially seen with increasingly complex comorbidities. It is estimated that approximately half of SSIs are deemed preventable using evidence-based strategies. Objective To provide new and updated evidence-based recommendations for the prevention of SSI. Evidence Review A targeted systematic review of the literature was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library from 1998 through April 2014. A modified Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was used to assess the quality of evidence and the strength of the resulting recommendation and to provide explicit links between them. Of 5759 titles and abstracts screened, 896 underwent full-text review by 2 independent reviewers. After exclusions, 170 studies were extracted into evidence tables, appraised, and synthesized. Findings Before surgery, patients should shower or bathe (full body) with soap (antimicrobial or nonantimicrobial) or an antiseptic agent on at least the night before the operative day. Antimicrobial prophylaxis should be administered only when indicated based on published clinical practice guidelines and timed such that a bactericidal concentration of the agents is established in the serum and tissues when the incision is made. In cesarean section procedures, antimicrobial prophylaxis should be administered before skin incision. Skin preparation in the operating room should be performed using an alcohol-based agent unless contraindicated. For clean and clean-contaminated procedures, additional prophylactic antimicrobial agent doses should not be administered after the surgical incision is closed in the operating room, even in the presence of a drain. Topical antimicrobial agents should not be applied to the surgical incision. During surgery, glycemic control should be implemented using blood glucose target levels less than 200 mg/dL, and normothermia should be maintained in all patients. Increased fraction of inspired oxygen should be administered during surgery and after extubation in the immediate postoperative period for patients with normal pulmonary function undergoing general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation. Transfusion of blood products should not be withheld from surgical patients as a means to prevent SSI. Conclusions and Relevance This guideline is intended to provide new and updated evidence-based recommendations for the prevention of SSI and should be incorporated into comprehensive surgical quality improvement programs to improve patient safety.

Cleaning Hospital Room Surfaces to Prevent Health Care–Associated Infections: A Technical Brief

The cleaning of hard surfaces in hospital rooms is critical for reducing health care-associated infections. This review describes the evidence examining current methods of cleaning, disinfecting, and monitoring cleanliness of patient rooms, as well as contextual factors that may affect implementation and effectiveness. Key informants were interviewed, and a systematic search for publications since 1990 was done with the use of several bibliographic and gray literature resources. Studies examining surface contamination, colonization, or infection with Clostridium difficile, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or vancomycin-resistant enterococci were included. Eighty studies were identified-76 primary studies and 4 systematic reviews. Forty-nine studies examined cleaning methods, 14 evaluated monitoring strategies, and 17 addressed challenges or facilitators to implementation. Only 5 studies were randomized, controlled trials, and surface contamination was the most commonly assessed outcome. Comparative effectiveness studies of disinfecting methods and monitoring strategies were uncommon. Future research should evaluate and compare newly emerging strategies, such as self-disinfecting coatings for disinfecting and adenosine triphosphate and ultraviolet/fluorescent surface markers for monitoring. Studies should also assess patient-centered outcomes, such as infection, when possible. Other challenges include identifying high-touch surfaces that confer the greatest risk for pathogen transmission; developing standard thresholds for defining cleanliness; and using methods to adjust for confounders, such as hand hygiene, when examining the effect of disinfecting methods.

The readmission risk flag: Using the electronic health record to automatically identify patients at risk for 30-day readmission

BACKGROUND Identification of patients at high risk for readmission is a crucial step toward improving care and reducing readmissions. The adoption of electronic health records (EHR) may prove important to strategies designed to risk stratify patients and introduce targeted interventions. OBJECTIVE To develop and implement an automated prediction model integrated into our health systems EHR that identifies on admission patients at high risk for readmission within 30 days of discharge. DESIGN Retrospective and prospective cohort. SETTING Healthcare system consisting of 3 hospitals. PATIENTS All adult patients admitted from August 2009 to September 2012. INTERVENTIONS An automated readmission risk flag integrated into the EHR. MEASURES Thirty-day all-cause and 7-day unplanned healthcare system readmissions. RESULTS Using retrospective data, a single risk factor, ≥ 2 inpatient admissions in the past 12 months, was found to have the best balance of sensitivity (40%), positive predictive value (31%), and proportion of patients flagged (18%), with a C statistic of 0.62. Sensitivity (39%), positive predictive value (30%), proportion of patients flagged (18%), and C statistic (0.61) during the 12-month period after implementation of the risk flag were similar. There was no evidence for an effect of the intervention on 30-day all-cause and 7-day unplanned readmission rates in the 12-month period after implementation. CONCLUSIONS An automated prediction model was effectively integrated into an existing EHR and identified patients on admission who were at risk for readmission within 30 days of discharge.

Calcineurin Inhibitor Minimization, Conversion, Withdrawal, and Avoidance Strategies in Renal Transplantation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Despite their clinical efficacy, concerns about calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) toxicity make alternative regimens that reduce CNI exposure attractive for renal transplant recipients. In this systematic review and meta‐analysis, we assessed four CNI immunosuppression strategies (minimization, conversion, withdrawal, and avoidance) designed to reduce CNI exposure and assessed the impact of each on patient and allograft survival, acute rejection and renal function. We evaluated 92 comparisons from 88 randomized controlled trials and found moderate‐ to high‐strength evidence suggesting that minimization strategies result in better clinical outcomes compared with standard‐dose regimens; moderate‐strength evidence indicating that conversion to a mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor or belatacept was associated with improved renal function but increased rejection risk; and moderate‐ to high‐strength evidence suggesting planned CNI withdrawal could result in improved renal function despite an association with increased rejection risk. The evidence base for avoidance studies was insufficient to draw meaningful conclusions. The applicability of the review is limited by the large number of studies examining cyclosporine‐based strategies and low‐risk populations. Additional research is needed with tacrolimus‐based regimens and higher risk populations. Moreover, research is necessary to clarify the effect of induction and adjunctive agents in alternative immunosuppression strategies and should include more comprehensive and consistent reporting of patient‐centered outcomes.

Assessing preventability in the quest to reduce hospital readmissions

Hospitals devote significant human and capital resources to eliminate hospital readmissions, prompted most recently by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) financial penalties for higher-than-expected readmission rates. Implicit in these efforts are assumptions that a significant proportion of readmissions are preventable, and preventable readmissions can be identified. Yet, no consensus exists in the literature regarding methods to determine which readmissions are reasonably preventable. In this article, we examine strengths and limitations of the CMS readmission metric, explore how preventable readmissions have been defined and measured, and discuss implications for readmission reduction efforts. Drawing on our clinical, research and operational experiences, we offer suggestions to address the key challenges in moving forward to measure and reduce preventable readmissions.

Neonatal Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection and Jewish Ritual Circumcision With Oral Suction: A Systematic Review

Jewish ritual circumcision rarely but occasionally includes a procedure involving direct oral suction of the wound, which can expose an infant to infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). This practice has provoked international controversy in recent years, but no systematic review of the clinical literature has previously been published. We designed this review to identify and synthesize all published studies examining the association between circumcision with direct oral suction and HSV-1 infection. Our search strategy identified 6 published case series or case reports, documenting 30 cases between 1988 and 2012. Clinical findings were consistent with transmission of infection during circumcision, although the evidence base is limited by the small number of infections and incomplete case data. Published evidence suggests that circumcision with direct oral suction has resulted in severe neonatal illness and death from HSV-1 transmission, but further research is necessary to clarify the risk of infection.

Evidence synthesis activities of a hospital evidence‐based practice center and impact on hospital decision making

BACKGROUND Hospital evidence-based practice centers (EPCs) synthesize and disseminate evidence locally, but their impact on institutional decision making is unclear. OBJECTIVE To assess the evidence synthesis activities and impact of a hospital EPC serving a large academic healthcare system. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Descriptive analysis of the EPCs database of rapid systematic reviews since EPC inception (July 2006-June 2014), and survey of report requestors from the EPCs last 4 fiscal years. MEASUREMENTS Descriptive analyses examined requestor and report characteristics; questionnaire examined report usability, impact, and requestor satisfaction (higher scores on 5-point Likert scales reflected greater agreement). RESULTS The EPC completed 249 evidence reviews since inception. The most common requestors were clinical departments (29%, n = 72), chief medical officers (19%, n = 47), and purchasing committees (14%, n = 35). The most common technologies reviewed were drugs (24%, n = 60), devices (19%, n = 48), and care processes (12%, n = 31). Mean report completion time was 70 days. Thirty reports (12%) informed computerized decision support interventions. More than half of reports (56%, n = 139) were completed in the last 4 fiscal years for 65 requestors. Of the 64 eligible participants, 46 responded (72%). Requestors were satisfied with the report (mean = 4.4), and agreed it was delivered promptly (mean = 4.4), answered the questions posed (mean = 4.3), and informed their final decision (mean = 4.1). CONCLUSIONS This is the first examination of evidence synthesis activities by a hospital EPC in the United States. Our findings suggest hospital EPCs can efficiently synthesize and disseminate evidence addressing a range of clinical topics for diverse stakeholders, and can influence local decision making.

Cleaning Hospital Room Surfaces to Prevent Health Care–Associated Infections

The cleaning of hard surfaces in hospital rooms is critical for reducing health care-associated infections. This review describes the evidence examining current methods of cleaning, disinfecting, and monitoring cleanliness of patient rooms, as well as contextual factors that may affect implementation and effectiveness. Key informants were interviewed, and a systematic search for publications since 1990 was done with the use of several bibliographic and gray literature resources. Studies examining surface contamination, colonization, or infection with Clostridium difficile, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or vancomycin-resistant enterococci were included. Eighty studies were identified-76 primary studies and 4 systematic reviews. Forty-nine studies examined cleaning methods, 14 evaluated monitoring strategies, and 17 addressed challenges or facilitators to implementation. Only 5 studies were randomized, controlled trials, and surface contamination was the most commonly assessed outcome. Comparative effectiveness studies of disinfecting methods and monitoring strategies were uncommon. Future research should evaluate and compare newly emerging strategies, such as self-disinfecting coatings for disinfecting and adenosine triphosphate and ultraviolet/fluorescent surface markers for monitoring. Studies should also assess patient-centered outcomes, such as infection, when possible. Other challenges include identifying high-touch surfaces that confer the greatest risk for pathogen transmission; developing standard thresholds for defining cleanliness; and using methods to adjust for confounders, such as hand hygiene, when examining the effect of disinfecting methods.

Effectiveness of indoor allergen reduction in asthma management: A systematic review

Background This review will inform updated National Asthma Education and Prevention Program clinical practice guidelines. Objective We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of allergen reduction interventions on asthma outcomes. Methods We systematically searched the “gray literature” and 5 bibliographic databases. Eligible studies included systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, and nonrandomized interventional studies. Risk of bias was assessed by using the Cochrane Risk of Bias instrument and the Newcastle‐Ottawa scale. The evidence base was assessed by using the approach of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Qualitys Evidence–based Practice Center program. Results Fifty‐nine randomized and 8 nonrandomized trials addressed 8 interventions: acaricide, air purification, carpet removal, high‐efficiency particulate air filtration (HEPA) vacuums, mattress covers, mold removal, pest control, and pet removal. Thirty‐seven studies evaluated single‐component interventions, and 30 studies assessed multicomponent interventions. Heterogeneity precluded meta‐analysis. For most interventions and outcomes, the evidence base was inconclusive or showed no effect. No interventions were associated with improvement in validated asthma control measures or pulmonary physiology. Exacerbations were diminished in multicomponent studies that included HEPA vacuums or pest control (moderate strength of evidence [SOE] for both). Quality of life improved in studies of air purifiers (SOE: low) and in multicomponent studies that included HEPA vacuums (SOE: moderate) or pest control (SOE: low). Conclusions Single interventions were generally not associated with improvement in asthma measures, with most strategies showing inconclusive results or no effect. Multicomponent interventions improved various outcomes, but no combination of specific interventions appears to be more effective. The evidence was often inconclusive because of a lack of studies. Further research is needed comparing the effect of indoor allergen reduction interventions on validated asthma measures, with sufficient population sizes to detect clinically meaningful differences. Graphical abstract Figure. No Caption available.

The Penn Medicine Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Supporting the Quality, Safety, and Value of Patient Care Through Evidence-Based Practice at the Systems Level (USA)

The University of Pennsylvania Health System Center for Evidence-based Practice (CEP) was established in 2006 by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer to support the quality, safety and value of patient care at Penn through evidence-based practice. To accomplish this mission, CEP performs rapid systematic reviews of the scientific literature to inform local practice and policy, translates evidence into practice through the use of computerized clinical decision support (CDS) interventions and clinical pathways, and offers education in evidence-based decision making to trainees, staff and faculty. The Center includes a physician director, three research analysts, six physician and nurse liaisons, a biostatistician, a health economist and an administrator, and collaborates closely with librarians and staff in informatics and quality improvement. To date, CEP has completed over 300 rapid reviews for clinical and administrative leaders on topics ranging from formulary management to device purchasing to development of best clinical practices. CEP has also created approximately 25 CDS tools to integrate evidence into practice, and is developing a pathways program to support standardization of care throughout our growing healthcare system. Lastly, CEP has enhanced the capacity for evidence-based decision making through a novel EBM curriculum for medical students, as well as courses and workshops for housestaff, fellows, faculty, advance practice providers and nurses. Our experience suggests hospital EPCs can efficiently synthesize and implement evidence addressing a range of clinical topics for diverse stakeholders, influence local decision making, and foster a culture of evidence-based practice, strengthening the quality, safety, and value of care provided.