Evaluation study of different strategies for detecting surgical site infections using the hospital information system at Lyon University Hospital, France.

Objective: To evaluate different strategies for detecting surgical site infections (SSIs) using different sources (notification by the surgeon, bacteriological results, antibiotic prescription, and discharge diagnosis codes).

Background: Surveillance plays a role in reducing the risks of SSIs but the performance of case reports by surgeons is insufficient. Indirect methods of SSI detection are an alternative to increase the quality of surveillance.