Reducing Surgical Site Infections in Cardiac Surgery Patients
Reducing Surgical Site Infections in Cardiac Surgery Patients
Although a randomized study would have been ideal, having 2 dressings, identical in appearance, on 3 different units (operating room, intensive care unit, and cardiac unit) would have created too many opportunities for confusion and errors. This is why a noncontemporaneous study design was used to introduce the 2 dressings. Regardless of this limitation in design, the authors are confident that the differences observed in the outcomes were not due to different techniques or patient care algorithm, both having remained the same throughout the study period. The authors also adjusted for any potential differences in patient characteristics that may have occurred during the study period as patients treated with the plain dressing had more risk factors for wound infections than those treated with the PHMB dressing. The study period of 10 months was identical for both dressings and encompassed any potential seasonality of infections that may have occurred throughout the year. After the study period, when the plain dressing was reintroduced, the rate of infection began to increase to reach the previous baseline.
Limitations
Although a randomized study would have been ideal, having 2 dressings, identical in appearance, on 3 different units (operating room, intensive care unit, and cardiac unit) would have created too many opportunities for confusion and errors. This is why a noncontemporaneous study design was used to introduce the 2 dressings. Regardless of this limitation in design, the authors are confident that the differences observed in the outcomes were not due to different techniques or patient care algorithm, both having remained the same throughout the study period. The authors also adjusted for any potential differences in patient characteristics that may have occurred during the study period as patients treated with the plain dressing had more risk factors for wound infections than those treated with the PHMB dressing. The study period of 10 months was identical for both dressings and encompassed any potential seasonality of infections that may have occurred throughout the year. After the study period, when the plain dressing was reintroduced, the rate of infection began to increase to reach the previous baseline.
