Study: Surgical site infections can add $60,000 to patient’s treatment
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
December 23, 2009
During a recent study, surgical patients who contracted a surgical site infection (SSI) because of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were at a greater risk for readmission, and death, and their elongated hospital stays cost $60,000 more than patients who did not develop a surgical site infection, reports HealthDay. The findings of the study were published in the December 15 PLoS One (journal). Researchers from Duke University Medical Center compared the 90-day outcomes of 659 patients with surgical site infections due to MRSA, patients whose surgical site infections were caused by MSSA (methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus), as well as patients without infection.
