Surgical Care
Ensuring extraordinary care
Hospitals can improve surgical care and reduce the risk of wound infection after surgery by providing the right medicines at the right time on the day of surgery.
There are steps that you, as a patient, can take to make sure the surgery is as safe as possible. For example, your doctor or nurse can tell you how to wash with an antibiotic soap the day before surgery. You can give your doctor or nurse a list of all your medications, including vitamins, herbal medicines, and over-the-counter medications. You should also tell your doctor or nurse about any allergies and bad reactions to anesthesia.
Sometimes patients get an infection after surgery, even if the hospital took steps to prevent it.
Here are signs to look out for:
- The surgical wound is red, hot, and swollen.
- You have a fever of over 100 degrees after you go home.
- A smelly or yellow/green fluid is coming out of the wound.
- Your pain is increasing even though you are taking pain medication.
How is East Jefferson General Hospital performing in surgical care?
The individual measures below are how hospitals throughout the United States are measured.
Percent of patients who got treatment at the right time (within 24 hours before or after their surgery) to help prevent blood clots after certain types of surgery
Description of measure
This measure tells how often patients having certain types of surgery received treatment to prevent blood clots in the period from 24 hours before surgery to 24 hours after surgery.
Why is this important?
Many factors influence a surgery patient's risk of developing a blood clot, including the type of surgery. When patients stay still for a long time after some types of surgery, they are more likely to develop a blood clot in the veins of the legs, thighs, or pelvis. A blood clot slows down the flow of blood, causing swelling, redness, and pain. A blood clot can also break off and travel to other parts of the body. If the blood clot gets into the lung, it is a serious problem that can sometimes cause death.
Treatments to help prevent blood clots from forming after surgery include blood-thinning medications, elastic support stockings, or mechanical air stockings that help with blood flow in the legs. These treatments need to be started at the right time, which is typically during the period that begins 24 hours before surgery and ends 24 hours after surgery.
Percent of surgery patients whose doctors ordered treatments to prevent blood clots after certain types of surgeries
Description of measure
Certain types of surgery can increase patients' risk of having blood clots after surgery. For these types of surgery, this measure tells how often treatment to help prevent blood clots was ordered by the doctor.
Why is this important?
Certain surgeries increase the risk that the patient will develop a blood clot (venous thromboembolism). When patients stay still for a long time after some types of surgery, they are more likely to develop a blood clot in the veins of the legs, thighs, or pelvis. A blood clot slows down the flow of blood, causing swelling, redness, and pain. A blood clot can also break off and travel to other parts of the body. If the blood clot gets into the lung, it is a serious problem that can cause death.
To help prevent blood clots from forming after surgery, doctors can order treatments to be used just before or after the surgery. These include blood-thinning medications, elastic support stockings, or mechanical air stockings that help with blood flow in the legs.
Percent of surgery patients who were given the right kind of antibiotic to help prevent infection
Description of measure
Some antibiotics work better than others to prevent wound infections for certain types of surgery. This measure shows how often hospital staff make sure patients get the right kind of preventive antibiotic medication for their surgery.
Why is this important?
Surgical wound infections can be prevented. Medical research has shown that certain antibiotics work better to prevent wound infections for certain types of surgery. Hospital staff should make sure patients get the antibiotic that works best for their type of surgery.
Percent of surgery patients whose preventive antibiotics were stopped at the right time (within 24 hours after surgery)
Description of measure
Taking preventive antibiotics for more than 24 hours after routine surgery is usually not necessary. This measure shows how often hospitals stopped giving antibiotics to surgery patients when they were no longer needed to prevent surgical infection.
Why is this important?
Antibiotics are often given to patients before surgery to prevent infection. Taking these antibiotics for more than 24 hours after routine surgery is usually not necessary. Continuing the medication longer than necessary can increase the risk of side effects such as stomach aches and serious types of diarrhea. Also, when antibiotics are used for too long, patients can develop resistance to them and the antibiotics won't work as well.
Percent of all heart surgery patients whose blood sugar (blood glucose) is kept under good control in the days right after surgery
Description of measure
All heart surgery patients get their blood sugar checked after surgery. Any patient who has high blood sugar after heart surgery has a greater chance of getting an infection. This measure tells how often the blood sugar of heart surgery patients was kept under good control in the days right after their surgery.
Why is this important?
Even if heart surgery patients do not have diabetes, keeping their blood sugar under good control after surgery lowers the risk of infection and other problems. "Under good control" means their blood sugar should be 200 mg/dL or less when checked first thing in the morning.
Percent of surgery patients who were given an antibiotic at the right time (within one hour before surgery) to help prevent infection
Description of measure
Getting an antibiotic within one hour before surgery reduces the risk of wound infections. This measure shows how often hospital staff make sure surgery patients get antibiotics at the right time.
Why is this important?
Surgical wound infections can be prevented. Medical research shows that surgery patients who get antibiotics within the hour before their surgery are less likely to get wound infections. Getting an antibiotic earlier, or after surgery begins, is not as effective. Hospital staff should make sure surgery patients get antibiotics at the right time.
Percent of surgery patients who were taking heart drugs called beta blockers before coming to the hospital, who were kept on the beta blockers during the period just before and after their surgery
Description of measure
Many people who have heart problems or are at risk for heart problems take drugs called beta blockers to reduce the risk of future heart problems. This measure shows whether surgery patients who were already taking beta blockers before coming to the hospital were given beta blockers during the time period just before and after their surgery.
Why is this important?
It is often standard procedure to stop patients' usual medications for awhile before and after their surgery. But if patients who have been taking beta blockers suddenly stop taking them, they can have heart problems such as a fast heart beat. For these patients, staying on beta blockers before and after surgery makes it less likely that they will have heart problems.
Percent of patients with urinary catheter removals POD1 or POD2 with a Day of Surgery being Day Zero
Description of measure
Urinary catheters should be removed within two days after surgery to help prevent infection.
Why is this important?
Sometimes surgical patients need to have a urinary catheter, or thin tube, inserted into their bladder to help drain the urine. Catheters are usually attached to a bag that collects the urine.
Percent of surgery outpatients who were given the right kind of antibiotic to help prevent infection
Description of measure
Some antibiotics work better than others to prevent wound infections for certain types of surgery. This measure shows how often hospital staff make sure patients get the right kind of preventive antibiotic medication for their surgery.
Why is this important?
Surgical wound infections can be prevented. Medical research has shown that certain antibiotics work better to prevent wound infections for certain types of surgery. Hospital staff should make sure patients get the antibiotic that works best for their type of surgery.
Percent of surgery outpatients who were given an antibiotic within 1 hour prior to surgery incision
Description of measure
Getting an antibiotic within one hour before surgery reduces the risk of wound infections. This measure shows how often hospital staff make sure surgery patients get antibiotics at the right time.
Why is this important?
Surgical wound infections can be prevented. Medical research shows that surgery patients who get antibiotics within the hour before their surgery are less likely to get wound infections. Getting an antibiotic earlier, or after surgery begins, is not as effective. Hospital staff should make sure surgery patients get antibiotics at the right time.
Percent of patients having surgery who were actively warmed in the operating room or whose body temperature was near normal by the end of surgery
Description of measure
This measure shows the percent of patients whose body temperature was normal or near normal during the time period 30 minutes before the end of surgery to 15 minutes after anesthesia ended. Higher percentages are better.
Why is this important?
Hospitals can prevent surgical wound infections and other complications by keeping the patient’s body temperature near normal during surgery. Medical research has shown that patients whose body temperatures drop during surgery have a greater risk of infection and their wounds may not heal as quickly. Hospital staff should make sure that patients are actively warmed during and immediately after surgery to prevent drops in body temperature.
