Postdischarge surveillance for XXXX following cesarean section: A prospective cohort study comparing methodologies.

@entity1 @entity281
OBJECTIVE: To assess how enhanced postdischarge telephone follow-up calls would improve case finding for @entity281 ( @entity281 ) surveillance after cesarean section. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of all @entity1 who delivered by cesarean section between April 22 and August 22, 2010. In addition to our routine surveillance, using clinical databases and electronic @entity1 records, we also made follow-up calls to the @entity1 at 7, 14, and 30 days postoperation. A standard questionnaire with questions about symptoms of @entity281 , health-seeking behaviors, and treatment received was administered. Descriptive statistics and univariate analysis were performed to assess the effect of the enhanced surveillance. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-three @entity1 underwent cesarean section during this study period. Standard surveillance identified 14 infections with telephone follow-ups identifying an additional 5 infections. Using the call as a gold standard, the sensitivity of the standard methodology to capture @entity281 was 73.3%. The duration of the calls ranged from 1 to 5 minutes and were well received by the @entity1 . CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that follow-up telephone calls to @entity1 following cesarean section identifies 26.3% of the total SSIs. Enhanced surveillance can provide more informed data to enhance performance and avoid underestimation of rates.
