The development and use of tools for monitoring the occurrence of surgical wound infections

Infections acquired during patients' hospital stays are a major health care concern in the UK. They can be fatal, lead to excess morbidity and lengthen hospital stay. There is therefore considerable interest in using analytical tools for monitoring the occurrence of infections so that any problems with the quality of patient care can be quickly identified and rectified. The development and implementation of such tools are complicated as some infections can be difficult to diagnose and it can take several weeks before an infection manifests itself. Another important issue is that some patients are more likely to contract an infection than others, regardless of the standard of care they receive. This paper describes work that has been undertaken in collaboration with University College London Hospitals (UCLH) to develop appropriate outcome monitoring tools for surgical wound infections that are easy for hospital staff to use and interpret. The underlying risk model has been developed and validated locally at UCLH, and for more widespread implementation it would require revalidation for new centres.