Multicenter Quality Improvement Project to Prevent Sternal Wound Infections in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Patients

Efficiency of an algorithm for the prevention of sternal infection after cardiac surgery in children under 1 year of age: A single-center retrospective study

Background

Sternal infection is one of the most challenging complications to manage after heart surgery. The aim of our study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a developed algorithm for preventing sternal infection in pediatric patients after surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD).

Methods

We conducted a single-center study examining the treatment of 478 children with CHD. Patients were divided into 2 groups, taking into account the application of a developed management algorithm. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors influencing the development of sternal infection following heart surgery using median sternotomy.

Results

A developed algorithm was applied in 308 children. In total, there were 16 cases of sternal infection (3.34 %) across both groups. Deep wound infection developed in 6 patients (1.26 %). Sternal infection developed in 2 children (0.65 %) in the first group (in which the algorithm was applied) and 14 children (8.2 %) in the second group. Deep sternal infection developed in 1 patient in the first group (0.33 %) and in 5 patients in the second group (2.94 %). As a result, perioperative risk factors as postoperative resternotomy (OR 23.315; p < 0.001), delayed sternal closure (OR 9.087; p = 0.003), development of acute renal failure (OR 5.322; p = 0.018) were associated with increased risk of infection and application of the developed algorithm resulted in a significant reduction in risk (OR 0.032; p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The suggested method for the prevention of sternal infection has significantly reduced the incidence of sternal infection after cardiac surgery in children less than 1 year of age. In patients with moderate to high risk for surgical site infection, surgeons can enhance wound healing and prevent wound infections with simple, inexpensive, and readily available tools and techniques. Surgical aspects, topical use of antibiotics, prevention of peripheral vasoconstriction, maintenance of normal oxygen delivery rates, and an individual approach to intensive care are essential.

The use of protocolised care bundle to prevent paediatric cardiac surgical site infection in resource-limited setting

OBJECTIVE

Surgical site infection is an important concern due to its association with morbidity and mortality after paediatric cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to present our approach and experience in the utilisation of a modified care bundle in a recently established paediatric cardiac surgical unit in the low-income region of Turkey.

METHODS

Between 2019 and 2021, we identified children who underwent cardiac surgical procedures and retrospectively collected relevant demographic data, disease characteristics, operational data, Risk Adjustment For Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS-1) scores, and post-operative factors such as morbidities, mortality, critical care, and in-hospital stay lengths. Surgical site infections and late infections were scanned.

RESULTS

Ninety-six patients (49 males, 47 females) underwent a total of 127 surgical procedures during the study period. Overall adherence to the protocol was 94%, 100%, and 96% in the pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative periods, respectively. There was no reported surgical site infection, and no late infection was encountered throughout the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that a low rate of surgical site infection, or even a rate of nil, is attainable through the utilisation of locally standardised guidelines for its prevention.

Impact of a Surgical Wound Infection Prevention Bundle in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery

BACKGROUND

The aim of this project was to decrease the incidence of surgical wound infection (SWI) to <1.5% in our pediatric cardiothoracic surgery patients using a prevention bundle and quality improvement process.

METHODS

An SWI prevention bundle addressing preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative risks was implemented. The primary outcome was SWI based on Society of Thoracic Surgeons criteria (superficial, deep, or mediastinitis). Novel aspects of the bundle included standardization of surgical closure and wound coverage for 14 days with a negative pressure dressing or a silicone dressing. Data were collected from January 2017 to November 2021; bundle intervention began in December 2019. SWIs were tracked using a g-chart. Preintervention and postintervention cohorts were compared by standard descriptive statistics. There were no changes in SWI tracking methods during the study.

RESULTS

During the study, 1159 individuals underwent 1768 surgical interventions. Preintervention (n = 931) and postintervention (n = 837) groups were clinically similar, with fewer neonatal surgeries in the postintervention group. SWI decreased in all patients (preintervention period: 1 SWI per 22 surgeries; postintervention period: 1 SWI per 62.6 surgeries) and in neonates (preintervention period: 1 SWI per 12 surgeries; postintervention period: 1 SWI per 26.7 surgeries). Special cause variation was achieved in the entire cohort by March 2021 and in neonates by April 2021. Decreases in SWI occurred in superficial and deep wounds but not in mediastinitis. Annual rate of total SWIs decreased from 2.83% in 2019 to 1.15% in 2021. Intensive care unit and hospital length of stay did not change.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated a reduction in SWI rates after implementing an SWI prevention bundle including standardized surgical closure and prolonged wound protection.

Impact of delayed sternal closure on wound infections following neonatal and infant cardiac surgery

Objectives

Delayed sternal closure is a routine procedure to reduce hemodynamic and respiratory instability in pediatric patients following cardiac surgery, particularly in neonates and infants. In this setting, the possible links between sternal wound infection and delayed sternal closure are still a matter of debate. As a part of our routine, there was a low threshold for delayed sternal closure, so we reviewed our experience with sternal wound infections with a focus on potentially related perioperative risk factors, particularly delayed sternal closure.

Methods

We retrospectively identified 358 operated neonates (37%) and infants (mean age 3.6 months) in our local congenital heart disease database between January 2013 and June 2017. Potential risk factors for sternal wound infections, such as age, gender, complexity (based on Aristotle- and STS-EACTS mortality category), reoperation, use of cardiopulmonary bypass, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, mortality and delayed sternal closure (163/358, 46%), were subjected to uni- and multivariate analysis.

Results

A total of 26/358 patients (7.3%) developed a superficial sternal wound infection. There were no deep sternal wound infections, no mediastinitis or sepsis. Applying univariate analysis, the prevalence of sternal wound infections was related to younger age, more complex surgery and delayed sternal closure. However, in multivariate analysis, sternal wound infection was only associated with delayed sternal closure (p = 0.013, odds ratio 8.6). Logistic regression revealed the prevalence of delayed sternal closure to be related to younger age, complexity, and the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Conclusion

In patients younger than one year, sternal wound infections are clearly related to delayed sternal closure. However, in our cohort, all sternal wound infections were superficial and acceptable, considering the improved postoperative hemodynamic stability.

Management of pediatric cardiac surgery wound: a literature review

Background:

Sternal wound infection is a severe complication of cardiac surgery in the pediatric population (0-18 years old) that can lead to increased morbidity, mortality, and prolonged hospitalization. Health professionals have the ability to perform some interventions during the pre, intra and post-surgery to correctly manage sternal wounds, with the goal of preventing infections.

Objectives:

To identify and discuss current best practice in the prevention, incidence, and treatment of infections of the cardiac surgery site in the pediatric population.

Methods:

Between February 20^th 2021 and February 28^th 2021 we consulted the PubMed database adopting full text, 20 years, Humans, English, Child aged 0 to 18 years as criteria. Twenty articles out of sixty-six were considered relevant to this study. These were divided into four themes.

Results:

All studies highlight the lack of standard guidelines for managing pediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Some centers developed protocols for managing antibiotic prophylaxis supported by measurable interventions; others implemented infection surveillance systems involving families taking care of patients after hospital discharge.

Discussions:

the identification of healthcare-associated infections in the pediatric population after cardiac surgery is useful in all peri-operative phases. The limited and restricted literature connected to single centers, with relatively small sample sizes, the use of a single database.

Conclusion:

There is a lack of standard guidelines. The prevention of site infection ought to the goal of reducing surgical site infections. Building a network between the multidisciplinary staff and the pediatric patient’s family improves the infection surveillance system, reducing the incidence of infections. (www.actabiomedica.it)

Surgical site infection prevention bundle for children submitted to cardiac surgery

OBJECTIVE

To build and validate the content and appearance of a surgical site infection prevention bundle for children submitted to cardiac surgery.

METHOD

Methodological study in two phases: 1) Bundle construction from an integrative literature review from which interventions have been extracted to compose the instrument; 2) Bundle content and appearance validation by 24 judges.

RESULTS

The 24 found articles presented 17 interventions for surgical site infection prevention in this population. Out of them, seven intervention proposals have been chosen to compose the bundle and sent for assessment by judges. The final proposal includes all the seven items chosen in the construction phase and has achieved a content validity index over 0.8 in all items referring to content and appearance.

CONCLUSION

The content and appearance of the developed bundle proposes care for the prevention of surgical site infection throughout the perioperative period.

Survey on Sternal Wound Management in the Italian Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Units

(1) Background: a review of the literature found a lack of standardized pediatric guidelines regarding wound management after cardiac surgery. (2) Objective: the aim of the study is to investigate the cardiac surgical wound management in Italian pediatric cardiac intensive care units. (3) Methods: we sent an online questionnaire to the 13 Italian pediatric cardiac intensive care units. (4) Results: ten pediatric cardiac intensive care units (77%) have a protocol for the management of the cardiac surgical wound. The staff members that mainly have the responsibility for the wound management after cardiac surgery are registered nurses and physicians together both in the pediatric cardiac intensive care units (69%), and when a patient is transferred to another ward (62%). Thirty-eight percent of the pediatric cardiac intensive care units have a protocol used to monitor wound infection, and the staff mostly uses a written shift report (54%) to monitor the infection. (5) Discussion: this is the first survey to investigate the management of the wound after cardiac surgery in Italian pediatric cardiac intensive care units. The small sample size and the fact that the centers involved are only Italian cardiac intensive care units are the limits of this study. (6) Conclusions: in the Italian pediatric cardiac intensive care units it emerged that there is a diversity in the treatments adopted and a lack of specific protocols in the management of the pediatric cardiac surgical wound.

Updating an Empirically Based Tool for Analyzing Congenital Heart Surgery Mortality

OBJECTIVES

STAT Mortality Categories (developed 2009) stratify congenital heart surgery procedures into groups of increasing mortality risk to characterize case mix of congenital heart surgery providers. This update of the STAT Mortality Score and Categories is empirically based for all procedures and reflects contemporary outcomes.

METHODS

Cardiovascular surgical operations in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database (January 1, 2010 - June 30, 2017) were analyzed. In this STAT 2020 Update of the STAT Mortality Score and Categories, the risk associated with a specific combination of procedures was estimated under the assumption that risk is determined by the highest risk individual component procedure. Operations composed of multiple component procedures were eligible for unique STAT Scores when the statistically estimated mortality risk differed from that of the highest risk component procedure. Bayesian modeling accounted for small denominators. Risk estimates were rescaled to STAT 2020 Scores between 0.1 and 5.0. STAT 2020 Category assignment was designed to minimize within-category variation and maximize between-category variation.

RESULTS

Among 161,351 operations at 110 centers (19,090 distinct procedure combinations), 235 types of single or multiple component operations received unique STAT 2020 Scores. Assignment to Categories resulted in the following distribution: STAT 2020 Category 1 includes 59 procedure codes with model-based estimated mortality 0.2% to 1.3%; Category 2 includes 73 procedure codes with mortality estimates 1.4% to 2.9%; Category 3 includes 46 procedure codes with mortality estimates 3.0% to 6.8%; Category 4 includes 37 procedure codes with mortality estimates 6.9% to 13.0%; and Category 5 includes 17 procedure codes with mortality estimates 13.5% to 38.7%. The number of procedure codes with empirically derived Scores has grown by 58% (235 in STAT 2020 vs 148 in STAT 2009). Of the 148 procedure codes with empirically derived Scores in 2009, approximately one-half have changed STAT Category relative to 2009 metrics. The New STAT 2020 Scores and Categories demonstrated good discrimination for predicting mortality in an independent validation sample (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2019; sample size 46,933 operations at 108 centers) with C-statistic = 0.791 for STAT 2020 Score and 0.779 for STAT 2020 Category.

CONCLUSIONS

The updated STAT metrics reflect contemporary practice and outcomes. New empirically based STAT 2020 Scores and Category designations are assigned to a larger set of procedure codes, while accounting for risk associated with multiple component operations. Updating STAT metrics based on contemporary outcomes facilitates accurate assessment of case mix.

Efforts to Reduce Infections in Delayed Sternal Closure Patients: A Survey of Pediatric Practice

BACKGROUND

Pediatric patients with sternum left open after cardiac surgery experience a higher risk for sternal wound infection (SWI). These infections are costly for programs, payers, and patients and their families. Despite efforts by individual programs to reduce infections in patients undergoing delayed sternal closure (DSC), there are no established guidelines that address preventive procedures. The purpose of this study was to determine the practice of pediatric cardiac surgery programs to prevent infection in their DSC patients and if preventive measures were associated with less infections.

METHODS

A 33 question survey on institutional practices was sent to chief surgeons at pediatric cardiac surgery programs in the United States.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight (35%) surgical programs responded. The mean number of pediatric cardiac bypass operations performed by programs in 2016 was 227 (range: 69-872). Data represented 6,484 patients <18 years of age who underwent cardiac surgery with 807 (12%) of those undergoing DSC. One hundred fifty-eight (2.4%) of all patients and 51 (6.3%) of the DSC patients developed a SWI. Patients with DSC who received preoperative baths were less likely to become infected (5.9% vs 15.8%; P = .015). Patients in programs with feeding protocols had fewer infections (5.7% vs 14.8%; P = .008).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this survey of children's cardiac surgery programs describe their practices to reduce infection rates in DSC patients. A multicenter project on wound care and closure techniques that might impact this costly complication is needed.

Sternal Precautions and Prone Positioning of Infants Following Median Sternotomy: A Nationwide Survey

PURPOSE

To describe current practice of pediatric sternal precautions (PSPs) and prone positioning restrictions (PPRs) in infants after median sternotomy.

METHODS

A Web-based survey with 21 questions was developed on the basis of a review of current literature and expert consultation. Snowball sampling resulted in 68 participants well represented by profession throughout the United States.

RESULTS

Approximately 80% of participants reported having institutional protocols for PSPs. Most common reported PSPs were no lifting at the axillae and no pulling of arms to achieve sitting. PSPs also included PPRs. The opinions of participants supported no PPRs or modified PPRs compared with strict PPRs.

CONCLUSIONS

Types of PPRs varied across participants, with the majority of participants in favor of modified PPRs while PSPs were less varied. Research is needed to examine the effects of PSPs and PPRs in infants post-median sternotomy.

A Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Surgical Site Infections in Patients Undergoing Delayed Sternal Closure After Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

Sternal wound infections (SWI) in delayed sternal closure (DSC) patients are a healthcare burden after congenital heart surgery. There are no guidelines specific for pediatric DSC patients to prevent this costly complication. The hypothesis was that the modifications to a bundled approach for DSC patients would decrease the SWI rate. For this prospective cohort study, DSC patients were postoperatively admitted to a pediatric cardiac care unit from February 2017 to January 2018. Using a modified protocol for prevention of SWI, the infection rates pre- and post-modified protocol were compared. The primary outcome measure was SWI. Secondary outcome measures were compliance with modifications. Retrospective review of cases in pre-protocol modification era from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2016 showed 377 pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass cases and 39 (10.4%) underwent DSC. During the post-protocol modification era, there were 129 cardiopulmonary bypass cases and 17 (13%) DSC cases. The SWI rate in DSC were 7.7% and 0% for pre-intervention and post-intervention, respectively (p = 0.52). The Bayesian confidence interval with Jeffreys prior gives a 95% confidence interval of 1.5% to 18.3% for pre-intervention and 0 to 13.5% for post-intervention. Compliance with the protocol bundle during the post protocol era was 93-100%. Although preliminary results are not statistically significant due to cohort size, the economic burden and increased LOS for each SWI is clinically significant. The early results of reduced infections for DSC patients using a modified bundle approach appear promising. Continued study and a multicenter project would be beneficial.

The Epidemiology of Healthcare-associated Infections in Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Units

BACKGROUND

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) represent serious complications for patients within pediatric cardiac intensive care units (CICU). HAIs are associated with increased morbidity, mortality and resource utilization. There are few studies describing the epidemiology of HAIs across the entire spectrum of patients (surgical and nonsurgical) receiving care in dedicated pediatric CICUs.

METHODS

Retrospective analyses of 22,839 CICU encounters from October 2013 to September 2016 across 22 North American CICUs contributing data to the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium clinical registry.

RESULTS

HAIs occurred in 2.4% of CICU encounters at a rate of 3.3 HAIs/1000 CICU days, with 73% of HAIs occurring in children <1 year. Eighty encounters (14%) had ≥2 HAIs. Aggregate rates for the 4 primary HAIs are as follows: central line-associated blood stream infection, 1.1/1000 line days; catheter-associated urinary tract infections, 1.5/1000 catheter days; ventilator-associated pneumonia, 1.9/1000 ventilator days; surgical site infections, 0.81/100 operations. Surgical and nonsurgical patients had similar HAIs rates/1000 CICU days. Incidence was twice as high in surgical encounters and increased with surgical complexity; postoperative infection occurred in 2.8% of encounters. Prematurity, younger age, presence of congenital anomaly, Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Congenital Heart Surgery Mortality Categories (STAT) 4-5 surgery, admission with an active medical condition, open sternum and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were independently associated with HAIs. In univariable analysis, HAI was associated with longer hospital length of stay and durations of urinary catheter, central venous catheter and ventilation. Mortality was 24.4% in patients with HAIs versus 3.4% in those without, P < 0.0001.

CONCLUSIONS

We provide comprehensive multicenter benchmark data regarding rates of HAIs within dedicated pediatric CICUs. We confirm that although rare, HAIs of all types are associated with significant resource utilization and mortality.