Surgical Care Improvement Project

Patients taking beta blockers who continued taking them before and after surgery

Staying on beta blockers before and after surgery makes it less likely that patients who take this medication will have heart problems.

Patients who were given an antibiotic within one hour before surgery

Surgery patients who get antibiotics within the hour before their surgery are less likely to get wound infections.

Patients given the right kind of antibiotic to help prevent infection

Certain antibiotics work better to prevent wound infections for certain types of surgery.

Patients whose preventive antibiotics were stopped within 24 hours after surgery

Continuing antibiotics longer than necessary (more than 24 hours) can increase the risk of side effects. Also, when antibiotics are used for too long, patients can develop resistance to them and the antibiotics won’t work as well.

Patients whose urinary catheters were removed on the first or second day after surgery.

Surgery patients can develop infections when urinary catheters are left in place too long after surgery. Infections are dangerous for patients, cause longer hospital stays, and increase costs.

Patients who received treatment within 24 hours before or after surgery to help prevent blood clots

Treatments to help prevent blood clots from forming after surgery include blood-thinning medications, elastic support stockings or mechanical air stockings that help with blood flow in the legs. These treatments need to be started at the right time, which is typically during the period that begins 24 hours before surgery and ends 24 hours after surgery.

Source: Hospital Compare

October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015