What Is the Real Rate of Surgical Site Infection?

Purpose: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are associated with patient morbidity and increased health care costs. Although several national organizations including the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), and the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) monitor SSI, there is no standard reporting methodology.

Methods: We queried the UHC, NSQIP, and NHSN databases from July 2012 to June 2014 for SSI after gynecologic surgery at our institution.

Healthcare-associated outbreaks due to Mucorales and other uncommon fungi.

Background: Healthcare-associated outbreaks of fungal infections, especially with uncommon and emerging fungi, have become more frequent in the past decade.

Materials And Method: Here, we reviewed the history and definition of healthcare-associated outbreaks of uncommon fungal infections and discussed the principles of investigating, containing and treatment of these outbreaks.

Results: In case of these uncommon diseases, occurrence of two or more cases in a short period is considered as an outbreak.

Timing of infectious complications following breast-conserving therapy with catheter-based accelerated partial breast irradiation.

Background: Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) has been used as an alternative to whole-breast irradiation as part of breast-conserving therapy. Indications and outcomes are topics of ongoing investigation. Previous publications have focused on early postoperative infections and reported low rates of delayed infection.

Perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis for intra-abdominal surgery in patients with cancer: a retrospective study comparing ertapenem and nonertapenem antibiotics.

Background: To evaluate the role of ertapenem versus other standard antibiotic prophylaxis in patients with cancer undergoing intra-abdominal surgery.

Methods: Our study was a retrospective cohort study consisting 615 patients who underwent intra-abdominal surgery at our institution between January 2007 and December 2010. The groups were divided among patients who received ertapenem as perioperative prophylaxis (ertapenem group) and patients who received other antibiotics (nonertapenem group).