Effect of climate on surgical site infections and anticipated increases in the United States

Abstract

Surgical site infections (SSI) are one of the most common and costly hospital-acquired infections in the United States. Meteorological variables such as temperature, humidity, and precipitation may represent a neglected group of risk factors for SSI. Using a national private insurance database, we collected admission and follow-up records for National Healthcare Safety Network-monitored surgical procedures and associated climate conditions from 2007 to 2014. We found that every 10 cm increase of maximum daily precipitation resulted in a 1.09 odds increase in SSI after discharge, while every g/kg unit increase in specific humidity resulted in a 1.03 odds increase in SSI risk after discharge. We identified the Southeast region of the United States at highest risk of climate change-related SSI, with an estimated 3% increase in SSI by 2060 under high emission assumptions. Our results describe the effect of climate on SSI and the potential burden of climate-change related SSI in the United States.

The climate crisis and healthcare: What do infection prevention and stewardship professionals need to know?

“…In a data set of 1.6 million infections due to Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae , and Staphylococcus aureus , they identified significant associations between antimicrobial resistance patterns in these common pathogens and higher local minimum temperatures. 24 Another recent study similarly showed modest but significant impacts of both local temperature and humidity on surgical-site infection (SSI) rates within a representative data set in the continental United States, 2007–2014. 25 …”

“…Other factors, however, may contribute to population-level increases in antibiotic resistance including, for example, the overuse of antibiotics in livestock farming. In a 2018 study published in Nature Climate Science , McFadden et al 24 explored the role of climate (temperature, primarily) and other factors on the distribution of antibiotic resistance in human infections across the United States. In a data set of 1.6 million infections due to Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae , and Staphylococcus aureus , they identified significant associations between antimicrobial resistance patterns in these common pathogens and higher local minimum temperatures.…”