Spinal fusion surgery (SFS) is one of the most common operations in the United States, >450,000 SFSs are performed annually, incurring annual costs >$10 billion.

We used a nationwide longitudinal database to accurately assess incidence and payments associated with management of postoperative infection following SFS.

We conducted a retrospective, observational cohort analysis of 210,019 patients undergoing SFS from 2014 to 2018 using IBM MarketScan commercial and Medicaid–Medicare databases. We assessed rates of superficial/deep incisional SSIs, from 3 to 180 days after surgery using Cox proportional hazard regression models. To evaluate adjusted payments for patients with/without SSIs, adjusted for inflation to 2019 Consumer Price Index, we used generalized linear regression models with log-link and γ distribution.

Overall, 6.6% of patients experienced an SSI, 1.7% superficial SSIs and 4.9% deep-incisional SSIs, with a median of 44 days to presentation for superficial SSIs and 28 days for deep-incisional SSIs. Selective risk factors included surgical approach, admission type, payer, and higher comorbidity score. Postoperative incremental commercial payments for patients with superficial SSI were $20,800 at 6 months, $26,937 at 12 months, and $32,821 at 24 months; incremental payments for patients with deep-incisional SSI were $59,766 at 6 months, $74,875 at 12 months, and $93,741 at 24 months. Corresponding incremental Medicare payments for patients with superficial incisional at 6, 12, 24-months were $11,044, $17,967, and $24,096; while payments for patients with deep-infection were: $48,662, $53,757, and $73,803 at 6, 12, 24-months.

We identified a 4.9% rate of deep infection following SFS, with substantial payer burden. The findings suggest that the implementation of robust evidence-based surgical-care bundles to mitigate postoperative SFS infection is warranted.

To evaluate whether a series of quality improvement interventions to promote safe perioperative use of cephalosporins in penicillin-allergic patients improved use of first-line antibiotics and decreased costs.

Before-and-after trial following several educational interventions.

Academic medical center.

This study included patients undergoing a surgical procedure involving receipt of a perioperative antibiotic other than a penicillin or carbapenem between January 1, 2017, and August 31, 2019. Patients with and without a penicillin allergy label in their electronic medical record were compared with respect to the percentage who received a cephalosporin and average antibiotic cost per patient.

A multidisciplinary team from infectious diseases, allergy, anesthesiology, surgery, and pharmacy surveyed anesthesiology providers about their use of perioperative cephalosporins in penicillin-allergic patients. Using findings from that survey, the team designed a decision-support algorithm for safe utilization and provided 2 educational forums to introduce this algorithm, emphasizing the safety of cefazolin or cefuroxime in penicillin-allergic patients without history of a severe delayed hypersensitivity reaction.

The percentage of penicillin-allergic patients receiving a perioperative cephalosporin improved from ∼34% to >80% following algorithm implementation and the associated educational interventions. This increase in cephalosporin use was associated with a ∼50% reduction in antibiotic cost per penicillin-allergic patient. No significant adverse reactions were reported.

An educational antibiotic stewardship intervention produced a significant change in clinician behavior. A simple intervention can have a significant impact, although further study is needed regarding whether this response is sustained and whether an educational intervention is similarly effective in other healthcare systems.

Automated surveillance of healthcare-associated infections reduces workload and improves standardization, but it has not yet been adopted widely. In this study, we assessed the performance and feasibility of an easy implementable framework to develop algorithms for semiautomated surveillance of deep incisional and organ-space surgical site infections (SSIs) after orthopedic, cardiac, and colon surgeries.

Retrospective cohort study in multiple countries.

European hospitals were recruited and selected based on the availability of manual SSI surveillance data from 2012 onward (reference standard) and on the ability to extract relevant data from electronic health records. A questionnaire on local manual surveillance and clinical practices was administered to participating hospitals, and the information collected was used to pre-emptively design semiautomated surveillance algorithms standardized for multiple hospitals and for center-specific application. Algorithm sensitivity, positive predictive value, and reduction of manual charts requiring review were calculated. Reasons for misclassification were explored using discrepancy analyses.

The study included 3 hospitals, in the Netherlands, France, and Spain. Classification algorithms were developed to indicate procedures with a high probability of SSI. Components concerned microbiology, prolonged length of stay or readmission, and reinterventions. Antibiotics and radiology ordering were optional. In total, 4,770 orthopedic procedures, 5,047 cardiac procedures, and 3,906 colon procedures were analyzed. Across hospitals, standardized algorithm sensitivity ranged between 82% and 100% for orthopedic surgery, between 67% and 100% for cardiac surgery, and between 84% and 100% for colon surgery, with 72%–98% workload reduction. Center-specific algorithms had lower sensitivity.

Using this framework, algorithms for semiautomated surveillance of SSI can be successfully developed. The high performance of standardized algorithms holds promise for large-scale standardization.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required healthcare systems to meet new demands for rapid information dissemination, resource allocation, and data reporting. To help address these challenges, our institution leveraged electronic health record (EHR)–integrated clinical pathways (E-ICPs), which are easily understood care algorithms accessible at the point of care.

To describe our institution’s creation of E-ICPs to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and to assess the use and impact of these tools.

Urban academic medical center with adult and pediatric hospitals, emergency departments, and ambulatory practices.

Using the E-ICP processes and infrastructure established at our institution as a foundation, we developed a suite of COVID-19–specific E-ICPs along with a process for frequent reassessment and updating. We examined the development and use of our COVID-19–specific pathways for a 6-month period (March 1–September 1, 2020), and we have described their impact using case studies.

In total, 45 COVID-19–specific pathways were developed, pertaining to triage, diagnosis, and management of COVID-19 in diverse patient settings. Orders available in E-ICPs included those for isolation precautions, testing, treatments, admissions, and transfers. Pathways were accessed 86,400 times, with 99,081 individual orders were placed. Case studies demonstrate the impact of COVID-19 E-ICPs on stewardship of resources, testing optimization, and data reporting.

E-ICPs provide a flexible and unified mechanism to meet the evolving demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they continue to be a critical tool leveraged by clinicians and hospital administrators alike for the management of COVID-19. Lessons learned may be generalizable to other urgent and nonurgent clinical conditions.

To describe an outbreak of mediastinitis in heart transplant recipients.

Retrospective and contemporaneous cohort study.

Urban tertiary-care university hospital with a large cardiac transplantation program.

Heart transplant recipients.

Modifications of donor harvest technique; procedures aimed at decreasing skin and mucosal bacterial colonization; strict aseptic technique in the intensive care unit; and aggressive policing of established infection control practices.

In April 1999, mediastinitis rates among heart transplant recipients increased abruptly from a baseline of 6 cases per 100 procedures to sequential quarterly rates of 22, 31, and 50 cases per 100 procedures, whereas infection rates in other cardiac operations were unchanged. Bacteria causing these infections were multidrug-resistant "nosocomial" organisms. The epidemic occurred 2 months after a change in the United Network for Organ Sharing organ allocation algorithm. This change resulted in an increase in the duration of preoperative hospitalization from a median of 52 to 79 days (P = .008) and may have promoted prolonged hospitalization of patients with high illness severity. Aggressive multidisciplinary interventions were temporally associated with a return to preoperative mediastinitis rates without changing length of hospitalization prior to transplantation.

Changes in organ allocation for transplant that prolong waiting time in the hospital and alter illness acuity may lead to increased rates of postoperative infection. Measures to limit bacterial colonization may be a helpful countervailing strategy.

To evaluate adherence to components of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for preventing the transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in healthcare facilities.

Multihospital study using direct observation and a standardized questionnaire.

Three urban hospitals (two county hospitals and one private community hospital) in counties in California with a high number and incidence rate of tuberculosis (TB) cases.

The ventilation performance of treatment and TB-patient isolation rooms was assessed. Questionnaire data regarding TB control policy and procedures were obtained through interviews with the person(s) responsible for each program component; review of written TB control plans, training, and educational materials; and attendance at hospital TB control meetings and trainings.

Twenty-eight percent of isolation rooms tested (7/25) were under positive pressure; 83% of rooms tested (20/24) had six or more nominal air changes per hour (ACH), but supply air did not mix rapidly with room air. Therefore, the nominal ACH likely overestimated the effective ACH and the subsequent protection provided. In virtually all rooms tested (26/27), air potentially containing M tuberculosis aerosol moved toward, rather than away from likely worker locations. None of the hospitals regularly checked the performance of engineering controls. Only one hospital adhered to the CDC minimum requirements for respiratory protection. Training of healthcare workers generally was underutilized as a TB prevention measure. Hospitals did not provide comprehensive counseling regarding the need for healthcare workers to know their immune status and the risks associated with M tuberculosis infection in an immunocompromised individual. Employee representatives did not have a voice in TB-related decision making.

Important aspects of day-to-day TB control practice did not conform to the written TB control policy. Subsequent to the identification of TB patients, healthcare workers at all three hospitals were potentially exposed to M tuberculosis aerosol due to breaches in negative-pressure isolation, the limitations of dilution ventilation, and the failure to maintain engineering controls and to implement respiratory protection controls fully These findings lend support to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's policy presumption that, absent clear evidence to the contrary, newly acquired healthcare-worker M tuberculosis infections are work-related.