Volume 10, Number 11—November 2004
Research
Enhanced Identification of Postoperative Infections among Outpatients
Andrew L. Miner*†‡, Kenneth E. Sands*‡§, Deborah S. Yokoe*†‡, John Freedman#, Kristin Thompson†, James M. Livingston‡, and Richard Platt*†‡
Table 1
Breast surgeries and cesarean sections identifiable from claims dataa
| Characteristics | Breast procedures | Cesarean section |
|---|---|---|
| No. of procedures | 1,943 | 4,859 |
| Median patient age in y (interquartile range) | 48 (39–55) | 32 (28–35) |
| % with prescriptions within 30 days after surgery | 62 | 61 |
| % with prescriptions in the 6 months before surgery | 66 | 23 |
| Postoperative days w/ambulatory claimsb | 6 (2–11) | 1 (0–2) |
| Diagnoses on days w/ambulatory claimsb | 3 (2–4) | 1 (1–2) |
| SSI indicator categoriesc | ||
| Inpatient diagnosis (%) | 30 (1.5) | 63 (1.3) |
| Principally outpatient indicators (%) | ||
| Ambulatory setting diagnosis (excludes ED) | 173 (8.9) | 112 (2.3) |
| Antimicrobial drugs in ambulatory setting | 279 (14) | 277 (5.7) |
| Wound culture | 20 (1.0) | 124 (2.6) |
| Wound care | 33 (1.7) | 11 (0.2) |
| Emergency department diagnosis | 25 (1.3) | 25 (0.5) |
| Any SSI indicator (%) | 426 (22) | 474 (10) |
aSSI, surgical site infection, ED, emergency department.
bPostoperative days 0–60 for breast surgeries, 0–30 for cesarean section.
cNumber of procedures (percent of total) with at least one SSI indicator of the listed type in the 60 days (breast procedures) or 30 days (cesarean sections) after surgery.
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