Bouffant vs Skull Cap and Impact on Surgical Site Infection: Does Operating Room Headwear Really Matter?

BACKGROUND: The American College of Surgeons guidelines indicate that skull caps are acceptable, and the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses recommends bouffant caps. However, no scientific evidence has shown a significant advantage in surgical site infection (SSI) reduction with either cap. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of surgical cap choice on SSIs. STUDY DESIGN: Data from a previously published prospective randomized trial on the impact of hair clipping on SSIs were analyzed. Patients were grouped by the attending surgeons' preferred cap choice into either bouffant or skull cap groups. RESULTS: Overall, 1,543 patients were included in the trial. Attending surgeons wore bouffant caps in 39% and skull caps in 61% of cases. Prevalence of diabetes and tobacco use were similar between the groups. Bouffant caps were used in 71% of colon/intestinal cases, 42% of hernia/other cases, 40% of biliary cases, and only 1% of foregut cases. Overall, SSIs occurred in 8% and 5% of cases with a bouffant and skull cap, respectively (p = 0.016); with 6% vs 4% classified as superficial (p = 0.041), 0.8% vs 0.2% classified as deep (p = 0.12), and 1% vs 0.9% classified as organ space (p = 0.79); however, when adjusting for the type of operation, no significant differences in SSI rates were observed for skull caps vs bouffant caps. CONCLUSIONS: Attending surgeon preference for bouffant vs skull cap does not significantly impact SSI rates after accounting for surgical procedure type. Future guidelines should consider these clinical outcomes data and surgeon preference should dictate operating room headwear.

Impact of Hair Removal on Surgical Site Infection Rates: A Prospective Randomized Noninferiority Trial.

BACKGROUND: Despite substantial prevention efforts, surgical site infections (SSIs) remain the most common health care-associated infection. It is unclear whether the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to leave hair intact preoperatively reduces SSIs. STUDY DESIGN: A single-center, prospective, randomized, clinical trial was conducted from October 2009 to February 2015 in a 325-bed multispecialty, tertiary care teaching hospital to test the noninferiority of clipping hair to no hair removal in the prevention of SSIs. A total of 4,908 adults scheduled for elective general surgical procedures were screened for study participation. Of these, 600 were approached but refused, and 2,630 were excluded. Patients were randomized 1:1 to either the clipped group (n = 834) or the not-clipped group (n = 844). The clipped group had hair at the surgical site removed using disposable electric clippers. Of the randomized patients, 1,543 (768 in the clipped group and 775 in the not-clipped group) completed follow-up. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who could be evaluated and who had no SSI, as defined by CDC criteria. RESULTS: Baseline demographic, clinical, and surgical characteristics were similar between groups. The overall rate of SSI in the per-protocol analysis was 6.12% (47 of 768) in the clipped group and 6.32% (49 of 775) in the not-clipped group (absolute risk difference -0.20%; 95% CI -2.61% to 2.21%), p = 0.037). Because the absolute risk difference confidence interval included the prespecified noninferiority margin of 2%, we were unable to definitively demonstrate noninferiority for clipping hair. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical site infection rates were similar whether hair was clipped or not in patients undergoing general surgical procedures.

Borrelia miyamotoi Infection in Patients from Upper Midwestern United States, 2014-2015.

We confirmed Borrelia miyamotoi infection in 7 patients who had contracted an illness while near La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA, an area where Ixodes scapularis ticks are endemic. B. miyamatoi infection should now be considered among differential diagnoses for patients from the midwestern United States who have signs and symptoms suggestive of tickborne illness.

The Emergence of Clinically Relevant Babesiosis in Southwestern Wisconsin.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency and characteristics of babesiosis cases, and to assess the impact of the introduction of a tick-borne infection diagnostic panel on babesiosis diagnosis in the region surrounding La Crosse, Wisconsin, where babesiosis in non-travelers was previously rare. METHODS: In the spring of 2013, we conducted a point-in-time survey of Ixodes scopuloris ticks for the presence of Babesia microti. We also conducted a retrospective study of all babesiosis cases diagnosed in our health system between January 1, 2004, and November 1, 2013. Finally, we compared the number of babesiosis cases diagnosed during the study period before and after the June 1, 2012, introduction of a tick-borne infection diagnostic panel in our organization. RESULTS: Babesia microti was present in 5% of ticks surveyed in our region. Twenty-two cases. of babesiosis were diagnosed in our organization during the study period-19 since 2010. The tick-borne infection diagnostic panel was used widely by clinicians, with an attendant increase in babesiosis diagnoses. CONCLUSION: Babesiosis should be considered endemic in southwestern Wisconsin, and testing should be considered for patients with compatible clinical and laboratory features.

Executive Summary: 2015 Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Native Vertebral Osteomyelitis in Adults.

These guidelines are intended for use by infectious disease specialists, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, radiologists, and other healthcare professionals who care for patients with native vertebral osteomyelitis (NVO). They include evidence and opinion-based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of patients with NVO treated with antimicrobial therapy, with or without surgical intervention.

2015 Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Native Vertebral Osteomyelitis in Adults.

These guidelines are intended for use by infectious disease specialists, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, radiologists, and other healthcare professionals who care for patients with native vertebral osteomyelitis (NVO). They include evidence and opinion-based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of patients with NVO treated with antimicrobial therapy, with or without surgical intervention.

Functional outcomes in patients with Borrelia burgdorferi reinfection.

When Lyme disease is treated with appropriate antibiotic therapy in the early stages, long-term outcomes are good. However, a few patients have persistent symptoms despite appropriate therapy. Whether these patients' symptoms are any different from those of patients with reinfection is unclear. Our objective was to compare long-term symptoms and functional outcomes of patients with Borrelia burgdorferi reinfection with those of patients with only 1 episode of infection and with no history of infection. We compared outcomes of Lyme reinfection patients, characterized by recurrent erythema migrans (EM) lesions, with those of patients with 1 episode of Lyme disease (Lyme control) and with no history of Lyme disease (non-Lyme control) by retrospective medical record review and a survey consisting of a 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and a 10-item symptom questionnaire. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for continuous variables and χ(2) analysis for categorical variables were used. In cases of low cell counts, Fisher's exact tests were used. Bonferroni correction was used for multiple comparisons when ANOVA was significant. Reinfection was identified in 23/673 (3.4%) patients who had a diagnosis of Lyme disease in our health system during 2000-2004. Of the 23, 15 had long-term follow-up data and were age- and sex-matched to 45 Lyme control and 60 non-Lyme control group patients. Clinical characteristics were similar in the reinfection and Lyme control groups. SF-36 results were similar between groups for all domains except energy/vitality (VT). The SF-36 domain of VT was significantly different between groups: 63.0 vs. 54.5 vs. 64.5 in the reinfection, Lyme control, and non-Lyme control groups, respectively (p=0.047). Clinical features and long-term outcomes of patients with recurrent EM lesions were similar to those of the control groups and consistent with B. burgdorferi reinfection, not persistent infection. Patients with Lyme reinfection should be treated with antibiotic regimens similar to those used for patients with an initial episode of Lyme disease.

Long-term outcome of pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis: a cohort study of 260 patients.

BACKGROUND: The long-term outcome of patients with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis (PVO) has not been fully assessed. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study to describe the long-term outcome of PVO and to assess risk factors for treatment failure in patients evaluated at our institution between 1994 and 2002. Patients were observed until July 1, 2013. RESULTS: Two hundred sixty patients with PVO were included in this study. Twenty-seven percent (70) of patients developed their infection after an invasive spinal procedure. Staphylococcus aureus accounted for 40% (103) of infections. Forty-nine percent (128) of patients underwent spinal surgery as part of their initial therapy. The median duration of parenteral antimicrobial therapy was 42 days (interquartile range, 38-53). The estimated 2-, 5-, and 10-year cumulative probability of treatment failure-free survival was 72%, 69%, and 69%, respectively. Seventy-five percent of patients who developed treatment failure did so within 4.7 months of diagnosis. Residual neurological defects and persistent back pain were seen in 16% and 32% of patients, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, longer duration of symptoms before diagnosis and having an infection with S. aureus were associated with increased risk of treatment failure. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing duration of symptoms and infection with S. aureus were associated with treatment failure in patients with PVO. Most treatment failures occurred early after initiation of treatment. Pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis is associated with a high 2-year failure rate. Persistent neurological deficits and back pain are common after therapy.

Expansion of the Midwestern focus for human granulocytic anaplasmosis into the region surrounding La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), shares the same enzootic life cycle as Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Although La Crosse, WI, is a well-recognized Lyme disease focus with an abundance of Ixodes scapularis vector ticks and the first documentation of HGA occurred in patients from northwestern Wisconsin, local transmission of A. phagocytophilum has not to date been documented. In this study, we evaluated DNA extracted from 201 ticks captured locally by a real-time PCR that targeted a unique region within msp2, and 24 samples (12%) yielded positive results. The PCR also detected A. phagocytophilum DNA in blood samples obtained from 53 patients with clinical abnormalities consistent with HGA, and sequencing confirmed that the DNA was recovered from the Ap-ha variant of A. phagocytophilum, associated exclusively with human infection. The findings therefore confirmed that the upper Midwestern focus for HGA endemicity now includes the regions immediately surrounding La Crosse, WI. The results also validated the utility of the real-time msp2 PCR test for confirming acute HGA in the clinical setting.

Rapid decline of OspC borreliacidal antibodies following treatment of patients with early Lyme disease.

We determined whether the levels of OspC borreliacidal antibodies declined following treatment of early Lyme disease and whether the OspC7 peptide enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) could be used as an alternative test for detecting the response. Serum samples were collected from 37 subjects at the onset of illness and 2 and 6 months after treatment with doxycycline. The ELISA detected IgM and IgG OspC7 antibodies within 2 months in 18 (49%) and 5 (14%) sera, respectively. Moreover, the sera from 12 subjects who tested positive by the ELISA also showed borreliacidal activity which was completely abrogated when the antibodies to OspC7 were removed. The borreliacidal activity decreased greater than 4-fold in each seropositive patient within 6 months after treatment, and the findings were accurately predicted by the IgM ELISA. The results confirmed that the ELISA was an effective alternative for detection of OspC borreliacidal antibodies produced during early Lyme disease in humans and also provided strong evidence that a significant decline in the response coincides with successful treatment of the illness.

The effect of residual osteomyelitis at the resection margin in patients with surgically treated diabetic foot infection.

The appropriate antibiotic treatment of surgically resected diabetic foot osteomyelitis is controversial. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to evaluate the prognostic impact of residual osteomyelitis at the surgical margin of surgically resected diabetic foot osteomyelitis, and to assess the effectiveness of postoperative antibiotic therapy for residual osteomyelitis after surgical resection of infected bone. Of the 111 patients included in the study, 39 (35.14%) had pathologically confirmed margins positive for residual osteomyelitis. The median total duration of antibiotic treatment was 19 (range 10-134) days in patients with positive margins, whereas it was 14 (range 2-63) days in those with negative margins (P = .01). No statistically significant difference (P = .695) was found in the primary outcome of definite failure, defined as pathologically or microbiologically confirmed infection relapse at the proximal amputation site, between 3 (7.69%) of 39 patients with positive margins and 4 (5.56%) of 47 patients with negative margins. A statistically significant difference (P = .001) in the secondary outcome, definite treatment failure, or the need for more proximal amputation was found between 17 (43.59%) of 39 patients with positive margins and 11 (15.28%) of 72 patients with negative margins. Residual osteomyelitis at the pathologic margin was associated with a higher rate of treatment failure, despite the longer duration of antibiotic therapy.

Appropriately prescribing antibiotics for patients with pharyngitis: a physician-based approach vs a nurse-only triage and treatment algorithm.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and appropriateness of antibiotic use in adult patients with pharyngitis who opted for a nurse-only triage and treatment algorithm vs patients who underwent a physician-directed clinical evaluation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes to query the electronic medical record database at our institution, a large multispecialty health care system in LaCrosse, WI, we identified adult patients diagnosed as having pharyngitis from September 1, 2005, through August 31, 2007. Diagnosis, treatment, and outcome data were collected retrospectively. RESULTS: Of 4996 patients who sought treatment for pharyngitis, 3570 (71.5%) saw a physician and 1426 (28.5%) opted for the nurse-only triage and treatment algorithm. Physicians adhered to antibiotic-prescribing guidelines in 3310 (92.7%) of 3570 first visits, whereas nurses using the algorithm adhered to guidelines in 1422 (99.7%) of 1426 first visits (P<.001). Physicians were significantly less likely to follow guidelines at patients' subsequent visits for a single pharyngitis illness than at their initial one (92.7% [3310/3570] vs 83.7% [406/485]; P<.001). CONCLUSION: Instituting a simple nurse-only triage and treatment algorithm for patients presenting with pharyngitis appears to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.