Kenneth Sands

Health and economic impact of surgical site infections diagnosed after hospital discharge.

Although surgical site infections (SSIs) are known to cause substantial illness and costs during the index hospitalization, little information exists about the impact of infections diagnosed after discharge, which constitute the majority of SSIs. In this study, using patient questionnaire and administrative databases, we assessed the clinical outcomes and resource utilization in the 8-week postoperative period associated with SSIs recognized after discharge. SSI recognized after discharge was confirmed in 89 (1.9%) of 4,571 procedures from May 1997 to October 1998. Patients with SSI, but not controls, had a significant decline in SF-12 (Medical Outcomes Study 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey) mental health component scores after surgery (p=0.004). Patients required significantly more outpatient visits, emergency room visits, radiology services, readmissions, and home health aide services than did controls. Average total costs during the 8 weeks after discharge were US

Power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability in human cardiac transplant recipients.

5,155 for patients with SSI and

Occurrence of nosocomial bloodstream infections in six neonatal intensive care units.

1,773 for controls (p<0.001).

Predicting Bacteremia in Patients with Sepsis Syndrome

Beat-to-beat heart rate variability was studied by power spectral analysis in 17 orthotopic cardiac transplant patients. Heart rate power spectra were calculated from eighty-four 256-second recordings and compared with those taken from six normal subjects. The power spectra from the control subjects resolved into discrete peaks at 0.04-0.12 Hz and 0.2-0.3 Hz, whereas those of heart transplant recipients resembled broad-band noise without peaks. Log total power in the 0.02-1.0 Hz range was greater in the control subjects (0.982 +/- 0.084 [0.206], mean +/- SEM [SD]) than in the transplanted subjects (-0.766 +/- 0.059 [0.541]), (p less than 0.0001). Fifty-five electrocardiographic recordings from transplant patients were done within 48 hours of an endomyocardial biopsy. When the power spectra of those patients whose endomyocardial biopsies showed evidence of myocardial rejection were compared with those from patients who were found to be free of rejection, a significant difference was found in log total power (-0.602 +/- 0.090 [0.525] vs. -0.909 +/- 0.136 [0.577], p less than 0.02). We conclude that denervation of the heart significantly reduces heart rate variability and abolishes the discrete spectral peaks seen in untransplanted control subjects and that the development of allograft rejection may significantly increase heart rate variability.

Enhanced Identification of Postoperative Infections among Inpatients

BACKGROUND Nosocomial bloodstream infections (NBSIs) occur frequently in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Little has been published regarding variation in NBSI among institutions. OBJECTIVE To determine NBSI incidence among six NICUs and to explore how much variation is explained by patient characteristics and NICU practice patterns. METHODS From October, 1994, to June, 1996, six regional NICUs prospectively abstracted clinical records of all neonates weighing <1,500 g. Occurrence of NBSI, defined as first positive culture occurring >48 h after admission, was analyzed in relation to baseline patient characteristics and several common therapeutic interventions. Variables significant in univariate analyses were analyzed by Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS There were 258 NBSIs (incidence, 19.1%) among 1,354 inborn first admissions. Incidence varied significantly by site, from 8.5 to 42%. Birth weight, Broviac catheter use and parenteral nutrition were significantly associated with NBSI (P < 0.05). When controlling for these variables interinstitutional variation in NBSI occurrence decreased but remained significant. CONCLUSIONS Neonatal NBSI incidence varies substantially among institutions despite adjustment for length of stay and some known risk factors. The uses of Broviac catheters and especially intravenous nutrition supplements were significant determinants of NBSI risk.

Creating a Quality Improvement Elective for Medical House Officers

The goal of this study was to develop and validate clinical prediction rules for bacteremia and subtypes of bacteremia in patients with sepsis syndrome. Thus, a prospective cohort study, including a stratified random sample of 1342 episodes of sepsis syndrome, was done in eight academic tertiary care hospitals. The derivation set included 881 episodes, and the validation set included 461. Main outcome measures were bacteremia caused by any organism, gram-negative rods, gram-positive cocci, and fungal bloodstream infection. The spread in probability between low- and high-risk groups in the derivation sets was from 14.5% to 60.6% for bacteremia of any type, from 9.8% to 32.8% for gram-positive bacteremia, from 5.3% to 41.9% for gram-negative bacteremia, and from 0.6% to 26.1% for fungemia. Because the model for gram-positive bacteremia performed poorly, a model predicting Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia was developed; it performed better, with a low- to high-risk spread of from 2.6% to 21.0%. The prediction models allow stratification of patients according to risk of bloodstream infections; their clinical utility remains to be demonstrated.

Relationship of pulmonary artery catheter use to mortality and resource utilization in patients with severe sepsis.

Monitoring antimicrobial exposure and diagnosis codes for certain procedures identifies more postoperative infections than routine surveillance methods.

Early vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) bacteremia after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation is associated with a rapidly deteriorating clinical course.

The Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires that house officers demonstrate competencies in “practice-based learning and improvement” and in “the ability to effectively call on system resources to provide care that is of optimum value.” Anticipating this requirement, faculty at a Boston teaching hospital developed a 3-week elective for medical house officers in quality improvement (QI).The objectives of the elective were to enhance residents’ understanding of QI concepts, their familiarity with the hospital’s QI infrastructure, and to gain practical experience with root-cause analysis and QI initiatives. Learners participated in three didactic seminars, joined hospital-based QI activities, conducted a root-cause analysis, and completed a QI project under the guidance of a faculty mentor.The elective enrolled 26 residents in 3 years. Sixty-three percent of resident respondents said that the elective increased their understanding of QI in health care; 88% better understood QI in their own institution.

Efficient Identification of Postdischarge Surgical Site Infections: Use of Automated Pharmacy Dispensing Information, Administrative Data, and Medical Record Information

ObjectiveTo examine the relationship of pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) use to patient outcomes, including mortality rate and resource utilization, in patients with severe sepsis in eight academic medical centers. DesignCase-control, nested within a prospective cohort study. SettingEight academic tertiary care centers. PatientsStratified random sample of 1,010 adult admissions with severe sepsis. InterventionsNone. Measurements and Main ResultsThe main outcome measures were in-hospital mortality, total hospital charge, and length of stay (LOS) for patients with and without PAC use. The case-matched subset of patients included 141 pairs managed with and without the use of a PAC. The mortality rate was slightly but not statistically significantly lower among the PAC use group compared with those not using a PAC (41.1% vs. 46.8%, p = .34). Even this trend disappeared after we adjusted for the Charlson comorbidity score and sepsis-specific Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) III (adjusted odds ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.61–1.72). In linear regression models adjusted for the Charlson comorbidity score, sepsis-specific APACHE III, surgical status, receipt of a steroid before sepsis onset, presence of a Hickman catheter, and preonset LOS, no significant differences were found for total hospital charges (US

Sustained effectiveness of a primary-team-based rapid response system.

139,207 vs. 148,190, adjusted mean comparing PAC and non-PAC group, p = .57), postonset LOS (23.4 vs. 26.9 days, adjusted mean, p = .32), or total LOS in intensive care unit (18.2 vs. 18.8 days, adjusted mean, p = .82). ConclusionsAmong patients with severe sepsis, PAC placement was not associated with a change in mortality rate or resource utilization, although small nonsignificant trends toward lower resource utilization were present in the PAC group.