Economic benefit of appropriate timing of vancomycin prophylaxis in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery.

Study Objective: To determine if appropriate timing of vancomycin prophylaxis in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery results in an economic benefit by assessing the differences in total duration of hospitalization and hospital costs based on infusion start time in relation to first surgical incision.

Design: Prospective, observational study.

Setting: Tertiary care medical center.

Timing of vancomycin prophylaxis for cardiac surgery patients and the risk of surgical site infections.

Background: Increased incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species has required some hospitals to choose vancomycin for surgical prophylaxis. Guidelines for appropriate timing of vancomycin prophylaxis state that the infusion should begin within 120 min before the first surgical incision. However, no studies have investigated the proper timing of vancomycin prophylaxis in relationship to surgical site infections (SSI).