Open AccessThe impact of surgical site infection on hospitalisation, treatment costs, and health‐related quality of life after vascular surgery
Author(s) -
Totty Joshua Phillip,
Moss Joe William Edward,
Barker Erin,
Mealing Stuart James,
Posnett John William,
Chetter Ian Clifford,
Smith George Edward
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international wound journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1742-481X
pISSN - 1742-4801
DOI - 10.1111/iwj.13526
Subject(s) - medicine , confounding , surgical site infection , emergency medicine , vascular surgery , health care , surgery , cardiac surgery , economic growth , economics
Surgical site infections (SSI) substantially increase costs for healthcare providers because of additional treatments and extended patient recovery. The objective of this study was to assess the cost and health‐related quality of life impact of SSI, from the perspective of a large teaching hospital in England. Data were available for 144 participants undergoing clean or clean‐contaminated vascular surgery. SSI development, length of hospital stay, readmission, and antibiotic use were recorded over a 30‐day period. Patient‐reported EQ‐5D scores were obtained at baseline, day 7 and day 30. Linear regressions were used to control for confounding variables. A mean SSI‐associated length of stay of 9.72 days resulted in an additional cost of £3776 per patient (including a mean antibiotic cost of £532). Adjusting for age, smoking status, and procedure type, SSI was associated with a 92% increase in length of stay ( P < 0.001). The adjusted episode cost was £3040. SSI reduced patient utility between baseline and day 30 by 0.156 ( P = 0.236). Readmission rates were higher with SSI ( P = 0.017), and the rate to return to work within 90 days was lower. Therefore, strategies to reduce the risk of surgical site infection for high‐risk vascular patients should be investigated.