Post Discharge Surgical Wound Surveillance: A Pilot Study April, 1995

Abstract

Reduced patient length of stay in hospital following a surgical procedure has resulted in difficulties in monitoring the incidence of Surgical Wound Infection (SWI). The Australian Council on Health Care Standards (version 3), 1991, "Clinical Indicators - A Users' Manual": Indicator Area 5: Hospital Acquired Infection "Patients having evidence of a wound infection on or after the 5th post-operative day following clean and/or contaminated surgery." This suggests that surveillance should continue beyond five days. The purpose of the study was to survey a discreet group of patients to establish the rate and type of wound infection following a discharge. Patients studied were those who had undergone a Caesarean Section. Following agreement to participate, patients were interviewed and a questionnaire completed to identify clinical variables that may increase the persons susceptibility to wound infection. Patients were then contacted by phone at three, twenty and thirty days post-discharge and asked predetermined questions regarding the progress of their wound healing. The study was conducted over a period of seven months. Results indicate that a significant number of surgical wound infections do become evident post-discharge. This suggests that post discharge surveillance of SWI will give a more accurate indication of rates of wound infection and provide valuable information for improving the quality of patient care.