Surgical Site Infections: Abdominal Hysterectomy

Surgical Site Infections (SSI) are infections that occur after surgery in the part of the body where the surgery took place. These infections can affect the skin around the incision, as well as the tissues, muscles, and organs beneath its surface. SSIs can be largely prevented by following recommended sterilization and infection control procedures.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reports deep incisional and/or organ space SSIs that occurred within 30 days in patients that underwent an abdominal hysterectomy using a standardized infection ratio (SIR). The standardized infection ratio is a risk-adjusted summary measure that compares the observed number of infections to the predicted number of infections during a selected time period. The measure takes into account risk factors that may impact the number of infections at a facility, including facility size, the types of patients treated, and kinds of procedures performed.

SIRs below 1 indicate that the observed number of infections during the measured period was lower than would be expected, while values above 1 indicate that the observed number of infections was higher than expected.

How Are We Performing?

   ★ Performance is statistically better than the benchmark
= Performance is statistically similar to the benchmark
   ▼ Performance is statistically worse than the benchmark

What Are We Doing to Improve?

Mass General uses evidence-based practices that are proven to reduce the likelihood of surgical infections and promote recovery after surgery.