Clinical and economic burden of surgical site infection (SSI) and predicted financial consequences of elimination of SSI from an English hospital

• Published in: The Journal of hospital infection Vol. 86; no. 1; pp. 24 - 33
• Main Authors: Jenks, P.J, Laurent, M, McQuarry, S, Watkins, R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Attributable cost; Biological and medical sciences; Costs and Cost Analysis; Cross Infection - economics; Cross Infection - epidemiology; Cross Infection - prevention & control; England - epidemiology; General aspects; Healthcare-associated infection; Hospitals; Human infectious diseases. Experimental studies and models; Humans; Infection Control - economics; Infection Control - methods; Infectious Disease; Infectious diseases; Length of Stay; Margin (profitability); Medical sciences; Opportunity cost; Prevalence; Surgical site infection; Surgical Wound Infection - economics; Surgical Wound Infection - epidemiology; Surgical Wound Infection - prevention & control; England; Surgical site infection; Attributable cost; Healthcare-associated infection; Opportunity cost; Margin (profitability); Length of stay; Surgical wound; Nosocomial infection; Costs; Health economy; Hospital; Predictive factor; Public health
• ISSN: 0195-6701; 1532-2939
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2013.09.012

Summary Background Although surgical site infections (SSIs) are known to be associated with increased length of stay (LOS) and additional cost, their impact on the profitability of surgical procedures is unknown. Aim To determine the clinical and economic burden of SSI over a two-year period and to predict the financial consequences of their elimination. Methods SSI surveillance and Patient Level Information and Costing System (PLICS) datasets for patients who underwent major surgical procedures at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust between April 2010 and March 2012 were consolidated. The main outcome measures were the attributable postoperative length of stay (LOS), cost, and impact on the margin differential (profitability) of SSI. A secondary outcome was the predicted financial consequence of eliminating all SSIs. Findings The median additional LOS attributable to SSI was 10 days [95% confidence interval (CI): 7–13 days] and a total of 4694 bed-days were lost over the two-year period. The median additional cost attributable to SSI was £5,239 (95% CI: 4,622–6,719) and the aggregate extra cost over the study period was £2,491,424. After calculating the opportunity cost of eliminating all SSIs that had occurred in the two-year period, the combined overall predicted financial benefit of doing so would have been only £694,007. For seven surgical categories, the hospital would have been financially worse off if it had successfully eliminated all SSIs. Conclusion SSI causes significant clinical and economic burden. Nevertheless the current system of reimbursement provided a financial disincentive to their reduction.