Using the Compass Methodology to manage Surgical Site Complications in Caesarean Sections

 

Rashmi Srivastava, Samuel Enokela, Danielle Briggs

Objectives

Service Improvement audits build a framework for implementing real world evidence-based clinical pathways responsive to local health demographics.

A service improvement project aimed at establishing and decreasing the incidence of surgical site complications (SSC) after caesarean sections was undertaken across 3 UK maternity centres.

A Surgical site complication is a type of healthcare-associated event in which a wound complication occurs after an invasive (surgical) procedure. A surgical site complication may range from a wound discharge within 7 to 10 days of an operation to a life-threatening postoperative complication, such as an organ space infection¹.

SSCs in women undergoing caesarean section have a negative impact on quality of life and present a risk of morbidity, extended length of stay or readmission and increased healthcare costs².

The clinical pathways stratify women into high and low risk groups of SSC development propensity, with high-risk women receiving a Single Use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (sNPWT) device and low-risk women receiving a standard surgical dressing.

SNPWT has been shown to reduce the rate of SSCs in women with risk factors such as high BMI or diabetes¹.