Texas physicians deliver result-based system to prevent UTIs in surgical patients
To decrease the number of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in hospitalized patients, a group of surgeons developed a program to address the problem and delivered evidence-based results that have in fact reduced the likelihood of infections.
The program, designed by physicians at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, was presented at the 2016 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Conference, according to a statement.
To develop the program, the physicians studied a sample of 1,000 surgical cases at MD Anderson Cancer Center and found that three out of every 100 patients had a UTI, a higher rate than what was anticipated.
“Our data analysis determined that urinary tract infections were occurring across all surgical specialties at some level, suggesting that hospital-wide processes rather than surgical subspecialty processes might be involved," said Thomas Aloia, MD, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of surgical oncology at the University of Texas and NSQIP Surgeon Champion at the cancer center, in a statement.
The program, titled S.T.O.P. UTI, evaluated four categories of catheter management. The acronym stands for “Sterile placement,” “Timing of removal,” “Optimal positioning” and “Proper sampling.” Each UTI case was reviewed against the four categories.
UTIs are the fourth most common type of healthcare-associated infection in U.S. hospitals. There were more than 93,000 cases in 2011 alone.
After implementing the steps, the UTI rate decreased by 66 percent in 18 months, a reduction that is estimated to have led to 450 fewer UTIs per year and saved more than $1 million annually.
"There is no single fix for UTIs,” Aloia said. “Every hospital has a unique culture and historical differences in the ways they manage urinary catheters. So the solutions we make in our institution may be totally different from the solutions in another hospital. S.T.O.P. UTI is a method any hospital can use to assess process in their own setting and find areas where they can improve."
Senior Writer
As a Senior Writer for TriMed Media Group, Katherine primarily focuses on producing news stories, Q&As and features for Cardiovascular Business. She reports on several facets of the cardiology industry, including emerging technology, new clinical trials and findings, and quality initiatives among providers. She is based out of TriMed's Chicago office and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Columbia College Chicago. Her work has appeared in Modern Healthcare, Crain's Chicago Business and The Detroit News. She joined TriMed in 2016.