Study: Pediatric SSI rates in the US

Editor's Note

This study led by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, examines annual pediatric surgical site infection (SSI) rates among 287 US hospitals between 2015 and 2018.

Overall, 27,433 surgical procedures were included in this study. The average annual SSI rates were highest for colon surgery (5.3%-10.4%) and lowest for gallbladder surgery (0.0%-0.2%).

Higher SSI rates for colon, small-bowel, and spinal-fusion surgeries were observed in hospitals with higher procedural volume. In contrast, lower SSI rates for appendix surgery and ventricular shunt surgeries also were seen in hospitals with higher procedural volume.

The data reflect the challenges with measuring quality in pediatrics, the researchers say. “Surgical volume and procedural complexity are often correlated and current metrics do not adequately capture this complexity.”