Caesarean section surgical site surveillance in a private healthcare setting: a collaboration with the Victorian Hospital Acquired Infection Surveillance System (VICNISS) Coordinating Centre

Raymond Heathcote; Rob Baird; Robyn Ackland; Neridah Creedon; Sandra Haslam-Hillier; Ann Bull

doi:10.1071/HI08022

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Caesarean section surgical site surveillance in a private healthcare setting: a collaboration with the Victorian Hospital Acquired Infection Surveillance System (VICNISS) Coordinating Centre

Raymond Heathcote ^A ^G , Rob Baird ^B , Robyn Ackland ^C , Neridah Creedon ^D , Sandra Haslam-Hillier ^E and Ann Bull ^F

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Anaesthetics, Recovery and CSSD, Epworth Freemasons Hospital, 166 Clarendon Street, East Melbourne, Vic. 3002, Australia.

^B Melbourne Pathology, 103 Victoria Parade, Collingwood, Vic. 3066, Australia.

^C Women’s Health, Epworth Freemasons Hospital, 320 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, Vic. 3002, Australia.

^D Day Procedure Centre, Epworth Freemasons Hospital, 320 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, Vic. 3002, Australia.

^E Epworth Health Care Group, 89 Bridge Road, Richmond, Vic. 3121, Australia.

^F VICNISS Coordinating Centre, 10 Wreckyn Street, North Melbourne Vic. 3051, Australia.

^G Corresponding author. Email: raymond.heathcote@epworth.org.au

Healthcare Infection 13(3) 83-87 https://doi.org/10.1071/HI08022
Published: 2 September 2008

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test the application of the Victorian Hospital Acquired Infection Surveillance System (VICNISS) surveillance methods in a large private sector provider of maternity services, and compare the infection rates and compliance with national guidelines for surgical antibiotic prophylaxis with the VICNISS aggregate results. VICNISS methods were adopted for a 3-month period for surveillance of surgical site infections following caesarean sections, with the involvement of many sectors within the hospital including surgeons, anaesthetists, maternity services and operating theatre staff. During the study period there were 96 emergency and 205 elective caesareans. There was one superficial infection. The rate of compliance for choice of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis was 95.3%. The collaboration demonstrated the willingness and ability of private healthcare providers to contribute to State infection control surveillance data and highlights the opportunity for State programs to benefit from the inclusion of private sector surveillance data.

References

[1] Victorian Hospital Acquired Infection Surveillance System Coordinating Centre. VICNISS hospital acquired infection project. Year 5 report – September 2007. Melbourne: Department of Human Services; 2007.

[2] Victorian Hospital Acquired Infection Surveillance System Coordinating Centre. VICNISS hospital acquired infection surveillance system Type 1 Surveillance Manual Version 6. 2008. Available online at: http://www.vicniss.org.au/HCW/Type1/Manual.aspx [verified 4 August 2008].

[3] Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic. Version 13. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited; 2006.

[4] Bull AL, Russo PL, Friedman ND, Bennett NJ, Boardman CJ, Richards MJ. Compliance with surgical antibiotic prophylaxis – reporting from a statewide surveillance programme in Victoria, Australia. J Hosp Infect 2006; 63 140–7.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | [accessed November 2007].

[12] Healthcare Associated Infection Surveillance Western Australia. Annual report July 2005 – June 2006. Perth: Department of Health, Government of Western Australia; 2007.