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Surgical Site Infection as a Surrogate Marker of Physician Impairment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Robert J. Sherertz  and
Tobi B. Karchmer
Robert J. Sherertz*
Affiliation:
Department of Infection Control, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Tobi B. Karchmer
Affiliation:
Department of Infection Control, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
*
Section on Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1042 ([email protected])
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Abstract

Our report details an implant-associated outbreak of surgical site infections related to the adverse effects of treatment for hepatitis C virus infection administered to surgeon X. During the 12-month period of this outbreak, 14 (9.5%) of 148 of surgeon X's patients developed a surgical site infection, a rate of SSI that was 8-fold higher than the rate during the 14-month baseline period or the 14-month follow-up period (P = .001), and higher than the rate among peer surgeons (P = .02).

Type
Concise Communications
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 30 , Issue 11 , November 2009 , pp. 1120 - 1122
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2009

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