Interest and possibilities of performing post-operative registration of wound infections in Danish orthopaedic departments. A study survey.
Surgical wound infections, like other nosocomial infections, represent a considerable burden on both the individual patient and society. As the direct result of the operation is less than optimal, and there is a considerable economic wastage. A questionnaire survey including all 69 surgical departments in Denmark was implemented. The present study indicates interest in continuous post-operative infection surveillance in 81% of the 52 answering Danish surgical departments, where orthopaedic surgery is carried out. Only about the half of the wards had financial possibilities to buy computer hardware and software for continuous registration. In Denmark only between one third and one half of the wards had prior experience with registration systems. None of the wards used the same system, and in a very few cases the registration was continuous, definitions were different and the amount of data registered varied considerably. The survey indicates the importance of establishment of uniform registration criteria and the Danish chief surgeons will accept criteria defined by a working group within the Danish Orthopedic Society. An expanded registration system developed by this working party was preferred over a 'simple' minimum data base system. Most departments wanted local registration only, and doctors and secretaries in unison should perform the daily registration.