Vascular Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis Study (VSAPS)

Groin Surgical Site Infection in Vascular Surgery: Systemic Review on Peri-Operative Antibiotic Prophylaxis

Objectives: Surgical site infections (SSIs) in lower extremity vascular surgeries, post-groin incision, are not only common complications and significant contributors to patient mortality and morbidity, but also major financial burdens on healthcare systems and patients. In spite of recent advances in pre- and post-operative care, SSI rates in the vascular surgery field remain significant. However, compliant antibiotic therapy can successfully reduce the SSI incidence pre- and post-surgery. Methods: In October 2021, we conducted a systematic literature review using OVID, PubMed, and EMBASE databases, centered on studies published between January 1980 and December 2020. The review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses checklist. Inclusion/exclusion criteria have been carefully selected and reported in the text. For analyses, we calculated 95% confidence intervals (CI) and weighted odds ratios to amalgamate control and study groups in publications. We applied The Cochrane Collaboration tool to assess bias risk in selected studies. Results: In total, 592 articles were identified. After the removal of duplicates and excluded studies, 36 full-texts were included for review. Conclusions: The review confirmed that antibiotic therapy, administered according to all peri-operative protocols described, is useful in reducing groin SSI rate in vascular surgery.

How to Prevent Surgical Site Infection in Vascular Surgery: A Review of the Evidence

BACKGROUND

This review aims to identify and review the current evidence for preventing postoperative surgical site infections in abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery or infrainguinal arterial surgery.

METHODS

Extended literature review of clinical trials that examined the prevention of postoperative surgical site infections in abdominal aortic aneurysm or infrainguinal arterial surgery. Searches were conducted on Ovid MEDLINE (1950 - 13 March 2020) using key terms for vascular surgery, surgical site infections and specific preventative techniques. Articles were included if they discussed a relationship between a preventative technique and surgical site infections in abdominal aortic aneurysm or infrainguinal arterial surgery. The GRADE guidelines were used to assess the quality of evidence.

RESULTS

21 techniques and 81 studies were included. Prophylactic antibiotics and negative pressure wound therapy have a high quality of evidence for the prevention of surgical site infections in abdominal aortic aneurysm or infrainguinal arterial surgery. A moderate quality evidence base was identified for gentamicin containing collagen implant (confined to high surgical site infection risk centers). Currently, there is a low or very low quality of evidence to suggest a reduction in the surgical site infection rate for combination therapy, glycaemic control, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus screening and absorbable suture. Evidence suggests no beneficial effect for nutritional supplementation, chlorhexidine bath, hair removal therapy, Staphylococcus aureus nasal eradication, cyanoacrylate microsealant, silver grafts, rifampicin bonded grafts, triclosan coated suture and postoperative wound drains. Endoscopic saphenous vein harvest may reduce surgical site infection rate (very low quality of evidence) but may lower long-term patency. Autologous vein grafts may increase surgical site infections (very low quality of evidence) but may provide better long-term patency rates in above-knee infrainguinal bypass surgery. There was no identified evidence for perioperative normothermia, electrosurgical bipolar vessel sealer or Dermabond and Tegaderm for surgical site infection prevention in vascular surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

Prophylactic antibiotics and postoperative negative pressure wound therapy are effective in the prevention of postoperative surgical site infection in abdominal aortic aneurysm or infrainguinal arterial surgery. There exists a significant risk of bias in the literature for many preventative techniques and further studies are required to investigate the efficacy of gentamicin containing collagen implant, and specific combination therapies.

Contemporary Review to Reduce Groin Surgical Site Infections in Vascular Surgery

Surgical site infection (SSIs) in lower extremity vascular procedures is a major contributor to patient morbidity and mortality. Despite previous advancements in preoperative and postoperative care, the surgical infection rate in vascular surgery remains high, particularly when groin incisions are involved. However, successfully targeting modifiable risk factors reduces the surgical site infection incidence in vascular surgery patients. We conducted an extensive literature review to evaluate the efficacy of various preventive strategies for groin surgical site infections. We discuss the role of preoperative showers, preoperative and postoperative antibiotics, collagen gentamicin implants, iodine impregnated drapes, types of skin incisions, negative pressure wound therapy, and prophylactic muscle flap transposition in preventing surgical site infection in the groin after vascular surgical procedures.

Surgical infection prophylaxis prior to left ventricular assist device implantation: A survey of clinical practice

BACKGROUND

Short duration, antimicrobial prophylaxis that includes antistaphylococcal activity is recommended at the time of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation to reduce infection-related complications. There continues to be wide variability in surgical infection prophylaxis (SIP) regimens among implantation centers. The aim of this study is to characterize current SIP regimens at different LVAD centers.

METHODS

A survey study was conducted from 26 September 2017 to 25 October 2017. Surveys were distributed electronically to LVAD coordinators and infectious diseases specialists at 75 US medical centers identified as having an LVAD program. Data collection included information about antimicrobial selection, duration, Staphylococcus aureus screening, and decolonization procedures.

RESULTS

We received 29 survey responses. The majority of surveys were completed by infectious diseases physicians (72.4% [21 out of 29]). Most responding centers reported LVAD programs established for greater than 10 years (20 out of 29 [69%]). Cardiac transplantation was performed in 28 out of 29 (96%) centers. Of centers reporting a defined SIP regimen for non-penicillin allergic patients (96% [28 out of 29]), 17.9% (5 out of 28) reported a four-drug regimen, 35.7% (10 out of 28) reported a three-drug regimen, and 46.4% (13 out of 28) reported a two-drug regimen, while no centers reported a single-drug regimen. Empiric fluconazole was common (50% [14 out of 28]) and 96.4% (27 out of 28) of regimens included vancomycin. Duration of antimicrobial prophylaxis (24 hours to 5 days), S. aureus screening, decolonization procedures, and alterations due to drug allergies varied across participating centers.

CONCLUSIONS

Our survey results indicate wide variation in SIP regimens among participating LVAD centers. These results highlight the need for studies evaluating the implications of SIP regimens, and whether clinical factors that prolong antimicrobial duration impact postoperative infection rates.

Adding vancomycin to perioperative prophylaxis decreases deep sternal wound infections in high-risk cardiac surgery patients

OBJECTIVES

Perioperative prophylaxis with cephalosporins reduces sternal wound infections (SWIs) after cardiac surgery. However, more than 50% of coagulase-negative staphylococci, an important pathogen, are cephalosporin resistant. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of adjunctive vancomycin on SWIs in high-risk patients.

METHODS

We conducted a pre- and postintervention study in an academic hospital. Preintervention (2010-2011), all patients received prophylaxis with 1.5 g of cefuroxime for 48 h. During the intervention period (2012-2013), high-risk patients additionally received 1 g of vancomycin. High-risk status was defined as body mass index ≤18 or ≥ 30 kg/m2, reoperation, renal failure, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or immunosuppressive medication. Time series analysis was performed to study SWI trends and logistic regression to determine the effect of adding vancomycin adjusting for high-risk status.

RESULTS

A total of 3902 consecutive patients (n = 1915 preintervention and n = 1987 postintervention) were included, of which 1493 (38%) patients were high-risk patients. In the high-risk group, 61 of 711 (8.6%) patients had SWI before and 30 of 782 (3.8%) patients after the intervention. Focusing on deep SWI (DSWI), 33 of 711 (4.6%) patients had DSWI before and 13 of 782 (1.7%) patients afterwards; the absolute risk difference of 2.9% yielded a number-needed-to-treat of 34 to prevent 1 DSWI. Corrected for high-risk status, adding vancomycin significantly reduced the overall SWI rate (odds ratio 0.42, 95% confidence interval 0.26-0.67; P < 0.001) and the subset of DSWI (odds ratio 0.30, 95% confidence interval 0.14-0.62; P = 0.001). The rate of SWI in low-risk patients remained unchanged.

CONCLUSIONS

Adding vancomycin to standard antibiotic prophylaxis in high-risk patients significantly reduced DSWI after cardiac surgery.

Antibiotic Prophylaxis With Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole Instead of Cloxacillin/Cefotaxime Increases Inguinal Surgical Site Infection Rate After Lower Extremity Revascularization

Due to the consistently high proportion of surgical site infections (SSI) after vascular surgery, a change of prophylactic antibiotic therapy from cloxacillin/cefotaxime to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) was conducted in 2016. The study included consecutive patients undergoing lower extremity revascularization due to acute or chronic lower extremity arterial disease. The antibiotic regime was changed in between the two sampling periods (2014 -2016 versus 2016 -2017). The diagnosis of SSI was based on clinical examination and microbiological results, and severity was classified according to the Szilagyi classification. One hundred and twenty-two patients in the cloxacillin/cefotaxime and 67 patients in the TMP-SMX group were included. The SSI rates were 32.0% and 40.3%, respectively (p=0.25). The proportion of women were higher in the TMP-SMX group (32.8% versus 47.8%, respectively, p=0.043). No other differences between the two groups were found regarding patient, vascular surgery procedure characteristics or severity of SSI. Groin infection rate was higher in the TMP-SMX group (15.4% versus 30.5%, respectively, p=0.022). When adjusting for gender, groin infection was more common in the TMP-SMX group (Odds Ratio 2.5, 95% CI 1.1 -5.4). The groin SSI rate was higher after elective surgery in the TMP-SMX group (13.0% versus 27.8%, respectively, p=0.027), and also after adjusting for gender (Odds Ratio 2.6, 95% CI 1.1 -6.2). The change in antibiotic prophylaxis from Cloxacillin/Cefotaxime to TMP-SMX was associated with an increased rate of inguinal SSI in patients undergoing lower extremity revascularization, despite a possible Hawthorne effect.

Prospective randomized double-blinded trial comparing 2 anti-MRSA agents with supplemental coverage of cefazolin before lower extremity revascularization

OBJECTIVE

To compare with antibiotics with methicillin-resistant microbial coverage in a prospective fashion.

BACKGROUND

Current antibiotic prophylaxis for vascular procedures includes a first generation cephalosporin. No changes in recommendations have occurred despite changes in reports of incidence of MRSA related surgical site infections. Does supplemental anti-MRSA prophylactic coverage provide a significant reduction in Gram-positive or MRSA infections?

METHODS

Single center prospective double blinded randomized study of patients undergoing lower extremity vascular procedures from 2011 to 2014. One hundred seventy-eight (178) patients were evaluated at 90 days for surgical site infection. Infections were categorized as early infections less than 30 days of the index procedure and late after 90 days.

RESULTS

Early vascular surgical site infection occurred in 7(8.24%) of patients in the Vancomycin arm, and 11 (11.83%) in the Daptomycin arm (P = 0.43). Gram-positive related infections and MRSA infections occurred in 1(1.18%)/0(0%) of Vancomycin patients and 9 (9.68%)/1 (1.08%) of Daptomycin patients, respectively (P < 0.02 and P = 1.00). Readmissions related to surgical site infections occurred in 4(4.71%) in the Vancomycin group and 11 (11.8%) in the Daptomycin group (P = 0.11). Patients undergoing operative exploration occurred in 5 (5.88%) in the Vancomycin group and 10 (10.75%) of the Daptomycin group (P = 0.17). Late infections were reported in 3 patients, 2 of which were in the combined Daptomycin group. Median hospital charges related to readmissions due to a surgical site infection was $50,823 in the combination Vancomycin arm and $110,920 in the combination Daptomycin group; however, no statistical significance was appreciated (P = 0.11).

CONCLUSIONS

Vancomycin supplemental prophylaxis seems to reduce the incidence of Gram-positive infection compared with adding supplemental Daptomycin prophylaxis. The Incidence of MRSA-related surgical site infections is low with the addition of either anti-MRSA agents compared with historical incidence of MRSA-related infection.

Antibiotic Prophylaxis With Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole Instead of Cloxacillin Fails to Improve Inguinal Surgical Site Infection Rate After Vascular Surgery

Background:

Surgical site infections (SSIs) and their prevention continue to be a major point of focus in all surgical specialties today. Antibiotic prophylaxis is one of the mainstays in their prevention. Due to the consistently high proportion of infections caused by intestinal flora from the start of our wound surveillance registry in 2005, we conducted a change in prophylactic antibiotic therapy from cloxacillin in 2012 to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) in 2013.

Methods:

The study included all patients undergoing vascular surgery with groin incisions between March 1 and June 30 in 2012 and 2013, respectively, whereby the antibiotic regime was changed in between the 2 sampling periods. The diagnosis of SSI was based on clinical examination and microbiological results.

Results:

Two hundred nineteen patients with inguinal incisions were included in the analysis: 105 in the cloxacillin group of which 19% had SSI and 114 in the TMP-SMX group with an SSI rate of 18% ( P = .77), without differences between the 2 groups regarding age, gender, proportion of emergency surgery, type of surgery, or frequency of concomitant foot ulcers. The high proportion of infections caused by intestinal flora between time periods was unchanged (67% vs 81%, P = .34).

Conclusion:

There was no difference between the 2 groups, suggesting that the choice of antibiotic prophylaxis had a limited role in preventing SSI at our center. Despite this, the lower cost and ease of the administration of TMP-SMX can be seen as convincing advantages.

How To Diagnose and Manage Infected Endografts after Endovascular Aneurysm Repair

The prevalence of endograft infections (EI) after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair is below 1%. With the growing number of patients with aortic endografts and the aging population, the number of patients with EI might also increase. The diagnosis is based on an association of clinical symptoms, imaging, and microbial cultures. Angio-computed tomography is currently the gold-standard technique for diagnosis. Low-grade infection sometimes requires nuclear medicine imaging to make a correct diagnosis. There is no good evidence to guide management so far. In the case of active gastrointestinal bleeding, pseudoaneurysm, or extensive perigraft purulence involving adjacent organs, an invasive treatment should always be attempted. In the other cases (the majority), when there is not an immediate danger to the patient's life, a conservative management is started with a proper antimicrobial therapy. Any infectious cavity can be percutaneously drained. Management depends on the patient's condition and a tailored approach should always be offered. In the case of a patient who is young, has a good life expectancy, or in whom there is absence of significant comorbidities, a surgical attempt can be proposed. Surgical techniques favor, in terms of mortality, patency, and reinfection rate, the in situ reconstruction. Choice of technique relies on the center and the operator's experience. Long-term antibiotic therapy is always required in all cases, with close monitoring of the C-reactive protein.

The effect of Surgical Care Improvement Project measures on national trends on surgical site infections in open vascular procedures

OBJECTIVE

The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) is a national initiative to reduce surgical complications, including postoperative surgical site infection (SSI), through protocol-driven antibiotic usage. This study aimed to determine the effect SCIP guidelines have had on in-hospital SSIs after open vascular procedures.

METHODS

The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) was retrospectively analyzed using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, diagnosis codes to capture SSIs in hospital patients who underwent elective carotid endarterectomy, elective open repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), and peripheral bypass. The pre-SCIP era was defined as 2000 to 2005 and post-SCIP was defined as 2007 to 2010. The year 2006 was excluded because this was the transition year in which the SCIP guidelines were implemented. Analysis of variance and χ(2) testing were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The rate of SSI in the pre-SCIP era was 2.2% compared with 2.3% for carotid endarterectomy (P = .06). For peripheral bypass, both in the pre- and post-SCIP era, infection rates were 0.1% (P = .22). For open, elective AAA, the rate of infection in the post-SCIP era increased significantly to 1.4% from 1.0% in the pre-SCIP era (P < .001). Demographics and in-hospital mortality did not differ significantly between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Implementation of SCIP guidelines has made no significant effect on the incidence of in-hospital SSIs in open vascular operations; rather, an increase in SSI rates in open AAA repairs was observed. Patient-centered, bundled approaches to care, rather than current SCIP practices, may further decrease SSI rates in vascular patients undergoing open procedures.

Antibiotic prophylaxis for the prevention of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) related complications in surgical patients

BACKGROUND

Risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection after surgery is generally low, but affects up to 33% of patients after certain types of surgery. Postoperative MRSA infection can occur as surgical site infections (SSIs), chest infections, or bloodstream infections (bacteraemia). The incidence of MRSA SSIs varies from 1% to 33% depending upon the type of surgery performed and the carrier status of the individuals concerned. The optimal prophylactic antibiotic regimen for the prevention of MRSA after surgery is not known.

OBJECTIVES

To compare the benefits and harms of all methods of antibiotic prophylaxis in the prevention of postoperative MRSA infection and related complications in people undergoing surgery.

SEARCH METHODS

In March 2013 we searched the following databases: The Cochrane Wounds Group Specialised Register; The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) (The Cochrane Library); NHS Economic Evaluation Database (The Cochrane Library); Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Database (The Cochrane Library); Ovid MEDLINE; Ovid MEDLINE (In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations); Ovid EMBASE; and EBSCO CINAHL.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared one antibiotic regimen used as prophylaxis for SSIs (and other postoperative infections) with another antibiotic regimen or with no antibiotic, and that reported the methicillin resistance status of the cultured organisms. We did not limit our search for RCTs by language, publication status, publication year, or sample size.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently identified the trials for inclusion in the review, and extracted data. We calculated the risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for comparing binary outcomes between the groups and planned to calculated the mean difference (MD) with 95% CI for comparing continuous outcomes. We planned to perform meta-analysis using both a fixed-effect model and a random-effects model. We performed intention-to-treat analysis whenever possible.

MAIN RESULTS

We included 12 RCTs, with 4704 participants, in this review. Eleven trials performed a total of 16 head-to-head comparisons of different prophylactic antibiotic regimens. Antibiotic prophylaxis was compared with no antibiotic prophylaxis in one trial. All the trials were at high risk of bias. With the exception of one trial in which all the participants were positive for nasal carriage of MRSA or had had previous MRSA infections, it does not appear that MRSA was tested or eradicated prior to surgery; nor does it appear that there was high prevalence of MRSA carrier status in the people undergoing surgery.There was no sufficient clinical similarity between the trials to perform a meta-analysis. The overall all-cause mortality in four trials that reported mortality was 14/1401 (1.0%) and there were no significant differences in mortality between the intervention and control groups in each of the individual comparisons. There were no antibiotic-related serious adverse events in any of the 561 people randomised to the seven different antibiotic regimens in four trials (three trials that reported mortality and one other trial). None of the trials reported quality of life, total length of hospital stay or the use of healthcare resources. Overall, 221/4032 (5.5%) people developed SSIs due to all organisms, and 46/4704 (1.0%) people developed SSIs due to MRSA.In the 15 comparisons that compared one antibiotic regimen with another, there were no significant differences in the proportion of people who developed SSIs. In the single trial that compared an antibiotic regimen with placebo, the proportion of people who developed SSIs was significantly lower in the group that received antibiotic prophylaxis with co-amoxiclav (or cefotaxime if allergic to penicillin) compared with placebo (all SSI: RR 0.26; 95% CI 0.11 to 0.65; MRSA SSI RR 0.05; 95% CI 0.00 to 0.83). In two trials that reported MRSA infections other than SSI, 19/478 (4.5%) people developed MRSA infections including SSI, chest infection and bacteraemia. There were no significant differences in the proportion of people who developed MRSA infections at any body site in these two comparisons.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Prophylaxis with co-amoxiclav decreases the proportion of people developing MRSA infections compared with placebo in people without malignant disease undergoing percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy insertion, although this may be due to decreasing overall infection thereby preventing wounds from becoming secondarily infected with MRSA. There is currently no other evidence to suggest that using a combination of multiple prophylactic antibiotics or administering prophylactic antibiotics for an increased duration is of benefit to people undergoing surgery in terms of reducing MRSA infections. Well designed RCTs assessing the clinical effectiveness of different antibiotic regimens are necessary on this topic.