An integrative care bundle to prevent surgical site infections among surgical hip patients: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infections (SSIs) following hip fracture surgeries have profound clinical and economic implications. The study aims to analyze the effect of an integrative SSI prevention care bundle on the SSI incidence among surgical hip patients. The study also aims to examine the association between SSI and mortality, readmission, duration of hospitalization, and hospital cost.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was carried out to assess the incidence of SSI in an acute hip unit in Singapore from January 2015 to September 2017. Patients who developed SSI fell into the exposure group, whereas patients without SSI fell into the nonexposure group. A comparison of the incidence of mortality, readmission, length of stay, and inpatient bill size was conducted between the 2 groups.

RESULTS: Among 758 hip surgeries performed during the study period, 14 (1.8%) SSIs were documented. Compared with patients with no SSI, patients with SSI were 4.27 times more likely to be readmitted within 30 days, had 2.47 times longer length of stay, and 2.15 times the inpatient bill size.

CONCLUSIONS: An integrative care bundle that capitalizes on the expertise of a multidisciplinary team has promoted shared responsibility and proven to be effective in preventing SSIs while contributing to better patient outcomes within the unit.