A benchmark too far: national survey of surgical site infection surveillance
Background The national surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance service in England collates and publishes SSI rates that are used for benchmarking and to identify the prevalence of SSIs. However, research studies using high-quality SSI surveillance report rates that are much higher than those...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2013
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50780/ |
| _version_ | 1848798338875392000 |
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| author | Tanner, Judith Padley, Wendy Kiernan, M. Leaper, D. Norrie, P. Baggot, R. |
| author_facet | Tanner, Judith Padley, Wendy Kiernan, M. Leaper, D. Norrie, P. Baggot, R. |
| author_sort | Tanner, Judith |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background
The national surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance service in England collates and publishes SSI rates that are used for benchmarking and to identify the prevalence of SSIs. However, research studies using high-quality SSI surveillance report rates that are much higher than those published by the national surveillance service. This variance questions the validity of data collected through the national service.
Aim
To audit SSI definitions and data collection methods used by hospital trusts in England.
Method
All 156 hospital trusts in England were sent questionnaires that focused on aspects of SSI definitions and data collection methods.
Findings
Completed questionnaires were received from 106 hospital trusts. There were considerable differences in data collection methods and data quality that caused wide variation in reported SSI rates. For example, the SSI rate for knee replacement surgery was 4.1% for trusts that used high-quality postdischarge surveillance (PDS) and 1.5% for trusts that used low-quality PDS. Contrary to national protocols and definitions, 10% of trusts did not provide data on superficial infections, 15% of trusts did not use the recommended SSI definition, and 8% of trusts used inpatient data alone. Thirty trusts did not submit a complete set of their data to the national surveillance service. Unsubmitted data included non-mandatory data, PDS data and continuous data.
Conclusion
The national surveillance service underestimates the prevalence of SSIs and is not appropriate for benchmarking. Hospitals that conduct high-quality SSI surveillance will be penalized within the current surveillance service. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:18:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-50780 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:18:11Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-507802020-05-04T20:19:39Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50780/ A benchmark too far: national survey of surgical site infection surveillance Tanner, Judith Padley, Wendy Kiernan, M. Leaper, D. Norrie, P. Baggot, R. Background The national surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance service in England collates and publishes SSI rates that are used for benchmarking and to identify the prevalence of SSIs. However, research studies using high-quality SSI surveillance report rates that are much higher than those published by the national surveillance service. This variance questions the validity of data collected through the national service. Aim To audit SSI definitions and data collection methods used by hospital trusts in England. Method All 156 hospital trusts in England were sent questionnaires that focused on aspects of SSI definitions and data collection methods. Findings Completed questionnaires were received from 106 hospital trusts. There were considerable differences in data collection methods and data quality that caused wide variation in reported SSI rates. For example, the SSI rate for knee replacement surgery was 4.1% for trusts that used high-quality postdischarge surveillance (PDS) and 1.5% for trusts that used low-quality PDS. Contrary to national protocols and definitions, 10% of trusts did not provide data on superficial infections, 15% of trusts did not use the recommended SSI definition, and 8% of trusts used inpatient data alone. Thirty trusts did not submit a complete set of their data to the national surveillance service. Unsubmitted data included non-mandatory data, PDS data and continuous data. Conclusion The national surveillance service underestimates the prevalence of SSIs and is not appropriate for benchmarking. Hospitals that conduct high-quality SSI surveillance will be penalized within the current surveillance service. Elsevier 2013-02 Article PeerReviewed Tanner, Judith, Padley, Wendy, Kiernan, M., Leaper, D., Norrie, P. and Baggot, R. (2013) A benchmark too far: national survey of surgical site infection surveillance. Journal of Hospital Infection, 83 (2). pp. 87-91. ISSN 1532-2939 Surgical site infection Surveillance http://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(12)00405-7/fulltext doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2012.11.010 doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2012.11.010 |
| spellingShingle | Surgical site infection Surveillance Tanner, Judith Padley, Wendy Kiernan, M. Leaper, D. Norrie, P. Baggot, R. A benchmark too far: national survey of surgical site infection surveillance |
| title | A benchmark too far: national survey of surgical site infection surveillance |
| title_full | A benchmark too far: national survey of surgical site infection surveillance |
| title_fullStr | A benchmark too far: national survey of surgical site infection surveillance |
| title_full_unstemmed | A benchmark too far: national survey of surgical site infection surveillance |
| title_short | A benchmark too far: national survey of surgical site infection surveillance |
| title_sort | benchmark too far: national survey of surgical site infection surveillance |
| topic | Surgical site infection Surveillance |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50780/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50780/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50780/ |