Highlights
- •Reported adherence was highest at the hospital practicing universal decolonization.
- •Patients vary in their concern about surgical site infections.
- •Patients vary in the effort they will extend to prevent surgical site infections.
- •Few patients reported either barriers to adherence or side effects.
Abstract
Background
To improve adherence with pre-surgical screening for Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage and decolonization, we need more information about patients’ experiences
with these protocols.
Methods
We surveyed patients undergoing orthopedic, neurosurgical, or cardiac operations at
Johns Hopkins Hospitals (JHH), the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC)
at MercyOne Northeast Iowa Neurosurgery (MONIN) to assess patients’ experiences with
decolonization protocols.
Results
Five hundred thirty-four patients responded. Respondents at JHH were significantly
more likely than those at the UIHC to report using mupirocin and were significantly
more likely than those at the UIHC and MONIN to feel they received adequate information
about surgical site infection (SSI) prevention and decolonization. Respondents at
JHH were the least likely to not worry about SSI and they were more willing to do
anything they could to prevent SSI. Few patients reported barriers to adherence and
side effects of mupirocin or chlorhexidine.
Conclusion
Respondents did not report either major side effects or barriers to adherence. Patients
varied in their level of concern about SSI, their willingness to invest effort in
preventing SSI, and their assessments of preoperative information. To improve patients'
adherence, clinicians and hospitals should assess their patients’ needs and desires
and tailor their preoperative processes, education, and prophylaxis accordingly.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 23, 2022
Footnotes
Conflicts of Interest: None to report.
Funding: The study was funded by grant 1R18HS022467-01 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
