Surgical Care Improvement Project Measures Research Articles

Strategies for Improving Surgical Quality

Surgical morbidity and mortality are major public health concerns. The outcomes of surgery have been shown to differ among providers; this variability in the outcomes of surgical procedures has long suggested opportunities to improve the quality of surgical care. Payers, health care policy makers, and surgeons’ professional organizations have implemented a range of strategies to effect large-scale quality improvement efforts targeted toward patients undergoing surgery. This review examines outcomes measurement and feedback, regional collaborative quality improvement, selective referral, pay for performance strategies, and new strategies for surgical quality improvement. Figures show example of provider desktop user interface for a regional quality collaborative; mortality after (30-day) bariatric surgery: Michigan hospitals versus non-Michigan hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) based on data from the 2007 to 2009 Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative and national ACS-NSQIP registries; and percentage of mortality decline for esophagectomy, pancreatectomy, cystectomy, and lung resection attributable to increases in market concentration, based on 2001 to 2008 national Medicare data. Tables list characteristics of different strategies for improving surgical quality; components of the Institute for Healthcare improvement ventilator and central catheter insertion bundle checklists; evidence regarding the relationship between compliance with Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures and clinical outcomes; SCIP measures retired as of January 15, 2015; and SCIP measures remaining. This review contains 3 highly rendered figures, 5 tables and 74 references.

The Impact of Surgical Care Improvement Project Measures on In-Hospital Outcomes following Elective Vascular Procedures

As part of the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), a national quality partnership of organizations including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention implemented several perioperative guidelines regarding antibiotic, venous thromboembolism (VTE), and beta-blocker prophylaxis for surgical patients. We evaluated the effect of SCIP on in-hospital surgical site infections (SSI), graft infections, VTE, myocardial infarctions (MIs), cardiac complications, mortality, and length of stay following elective major vascular surgery. Using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnostic and procedure codes, we identified elective open abdominal aneurysm repair (OAR), endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), carotid endarterectomy (CEA), major lower extremity amputation, and lower extremity bypass (LEB) procedures in the National Inpatient Sample from 2000 to 2012. Logistic regression and generalized linear models controlling for covariates were used to compare postoperative in-hospital outcomes before and after SCIP implementation (pre-SCIP era 2000-2005 versus post-SCIP era 2009-2012). In the post-SCIP era, the rate of in-hospital SSI following OAR increased from 1.0% to 1.6% (P<0.05). Nonetheless, there were improvements in in-hospital SSI (in EVAR and CEA), graft infections (in OAR, EVAR, and LEB for tissue loss), VTE (in CEA), MI (in EVAR and LEB for tissue loss), cardiac complication (in all procedures except OAR), mortality (in EVAR, CEA, major lower extremity amputation, and LEB for tissue loss), and length of stay (in all procedures except OAR) (all P<0.05). However after adjusting for covariates, SCIP was only associated with reducing SSI in CEA and major lower extremity amputation, graft infections in OAR and LEB for tissue loss, VTE in LEB for claudication or rest pain, mortality in OAR, and length of stay in all procedures except EVAR and CEA. Implementation of SCIP measures was associated with slight improvements in a few in-hospital outcomes following vascular procedures. Additional measures that are more specific to the clinical and technical challenges of treating vascular disease may be more effective for improving the management of vascular patents.

Strategies for Improving Surgical Quality

Surgical morbidity and mortality are major public health concerns. The outcomes of surgery have been shown to differ among providers; this variability in the outcomes of surgical procedures has long suggested opportunities to improve the quality of surgical care. Payers, health care policy makers, and surgeons’ professional organizations have implemented a range of strategies to effect large-scale quality improvement efforts targeted toward patients undergoing surgery. This review examines outcomes measurement and feedback, regional collaborative quality improvement, selective referral, pay for performance strategies, and new strategies for surgical quality improvement. Figures show example of provider desktop user interface for a regional quality collaborative; mortality after (30-day) bariatric surgery: Michigan hospitals versus non-Michigan hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) based on data from the 2007 to 2009 Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative and national ACS-NSQIP registries; and percentage of mortality decline for esophagectomy, pancreatectomy, cystectomy, and lung resection attributable to increases in market concentration, based on 2001 to 2008 national Medicare data. Tables list characteristics of different strategies for improving surgical quality; components of the Institute for Healthcare improvement ventilator and central catheter insertion bundle checklists; evidence regarding the relationship between compliance with Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures and clinical outcomes; SCIP measures retired as of January 15, 2015; and SCIP measures remaining. This review contains 3 highly rendered figures, 5 tables and 74 references.

Surgical Care Improvement Project Measures among Rural and Urban Hospitals in West Virginia

Surgical Care Improvement Project Measures among Rural and Urban Hospitals in West Virginia

Preventing Surgical Site Infections in Bypass Patients in the Era of Hospital-Based Quality Improvement Initiatives

The purpose of the study was to investigate risk factors associated with surgical site infections (SSIs) in vascular patients postbypass surgery in the context of a hospital-based quality improvement initiative. A retrospective study was conducted using a combination of National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) data and medical record review. Bypass surgery patients from October 2013 to December 2014 were included. Demographic data along with preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative clinical data were collected from 68 patients within the timeline. Forty-three of 60 variables (72%) were available through NSQIP, and the remainder were supplemented with record review. Twenty-nine of 68 patients (42.6%) presented with SSI. All demographics in 29 patients with SSI were compared with the other 39 patients without SSI. In addition, environmental factors (operating room traffic) and compliance with proper use of antibiotics, antibiotic redosing, postoperative glucose control, normothermia, postoperative mobility, and wound care were measured. The result of the review revealed no demographic relationship between the groups with SSI and without SSI. However, a combination of Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures and environmental factors were discovered to be potential contributors of SSIs in our patient population. Variables most highly correlated with SSI were average blood glucose of >11 mmol on postoperative day 1 to 3, postoperative mobilization, normothermia, and high operating room traffic during the operation. All variables highly correlated with infection were added by record review, and were not available in NSQIP. NSQIP was effective to identify cases with infections through basic demographic and clinical information. Record review was required to add variables that allowed identification of patients at high risk of infection. Our study suggests improvement of postoperative blood glucose, reduction in operating room traffic, and mobilization may lower postoperative SSI.

Strategies for Improving Surgical Quality

Surgical morbidity and mortality are major public health concerns. The outcomes of surgery have been shown to differ among providers; this variability in the outcomes of surgical procedures has long suggested opportunities to improve the quality of surgical care. Payers, health care policy makers, and surgeons’ professional organizations have implemented a range of strategies to effect large-scale quality improvement efforts targeted toward patients undergoing surgery. This review examines outcomes measurement and feedback, regional collaborative quality improvement, selective referral, pay for performance strategies, and new strategies for surgical quality improvement. Figures show example of provider desktop user interface for a regional quality collaborative; mortality after (30-day) bariatric surgery: Michigan hospitals versus non-Michigan hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) based on data from the 2007 to 2009 Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative and national ACS-NSQIP registries; and percentage of mortality decline for esophagectomy, pancreatectomy, cystectomy, and lung resection attributable to increases in market concentration, based on 2001 to 2008 national Medicare data. Tables list characteristics of different strategies for improving surgical quality; components of the Institute for Healthcare improvement ventilator and central catheter insertion bundle checklists; evidence regarding the relationship between compliance with Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures and clinical outcomes; SCIP measures retired as of January 15, 2015; and SCIP measures remaining. This review contains 3 highly rendered figures, 5 tables and 74 references.

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Improving SCIP Compliance

The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) is a national program aimed at reducing perioperative complications and is a quality benchmark metric for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This study evaluates whether a multidisciplinary program improved an institution's compliance with SCIP measures. Analysis of the facility's performance data identified three key areas of SCIP noncompliance: 1) timely discontinuation of perioperative antibiotics and urinary catheters, 2) initiation of venous thromboembolism prophylaxis, and 3) perioperative beta blocker administration. Multidisciplinary teams collaborated with providers and department chairs in reviewing and enable SCIP compliance. Anesthesia staff managed preoperative antibiotics. SCIP-compliant order sets, venous thromboembolism pop-up alerts, and progress note templates were added to the electronic medical record. Standardized education was provided to explain SCIP requirements, review noncompliant cases, and update teams on SCIP performance. Data were captured from January 2009 to March 2014. Ten SCIP fallouts were reported for general surgery specialties in January 2013, when the SCIP compliance project launched. Specifically, colon-related surgery achieved 100 per cent compliance. Six months after implementation, overall SCIP compliance at our institution improved by 65 per cent (from 90.7-98.6% compliance).

Improvement in inpatient glycemic care: pathways to quality.

The management of inpatient hyperglycemia is a focus of quality improvement projects across many hospital systems while remaining a point of controversy among clinicians. The association of inpatient hyperglycemia with suboptimal hospital outcomes is accepted by clinical care teams; however, the clear benefits of targeting hyperglycemia as a mechanism to improve hospital outcomes remain contentious. Glycemic management is also frequently confused with efforts aimed at intensive glucose control, further adding to the confusion. Nonetheless, several regulatory agencies assign quality rankings based on attaining specified glycemic targets for selected groups of patients (Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures). The current paper reviews the data supporting the benefits associated with inpatient glycemic control projects, the components of a successful glycemic control intervention, and utilization of the electronic medical record in implementing an inpatient glycemic control project.

The effect of Surgical Care Improvement Project measures on national trends on surgical site infections in open vascular procedures

The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) is a national initiative to reduce surgical complications, including postoperative surgical site infection (SSI), through protocol-driven antibiotic usage. This study aimed to determine the effect SCIP guidelines have had on in-hospital SSIs after open vascular procedures. The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) was retrospectively analyzed using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, diagnosis codes to capture SSIs in hospital patients who underwent elective carotid endarterectomy, elective open repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), and peripheral bypass. The pre-SCIP era was defined as 2000 to 2005 and post-SCIP was defined as 2007 to 2010. The year 2006 was excluded because this was the transition year in which the SCIP guidelines were implemented. Analysis of variance and χ(2) testing were used for statistical analysis. The rate of SSI in the pre-SCIP era was 2.2% compared with 2.3% for carotid endarterectomy (P = .06). For peripheral bypass, both in the pre- and post-SCIP era, infection rates were 0.1% (P = .22). For open, elective AAA, the rate of infection in the post-SCIP era increased significantly to 1.4% from 1.0% in the pre-SCIP era (P < .001). Demographics and in-hospital mortality did not differ significantly between the groups. Implementation of SCIP guidelines has made no significant effect on the incidence of in-hospital SSIs in open vascular operations; rather, an increase in SSI rates in open AAA repairs was observed. Patient-centered, bundled approaches to care, rather than current SCIP practices, may further decrease SSI rates in vascular patients undergoing open procedures.

Description of a multidisciplinary initiative to improve SCIP measures related to pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis compliance: a single-center success story.

BackgroundThe Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) was launched in 2005. The core prophylactic perioperative antibiotic guidelines were created due to recognition of the impact of proper perioperative prophylaxis on an estimated annual one million inpatient days and $1.6 billion in excess health care costs secondary to preventable surgical site infections (SSIs). An internal study was conducted to create low cost, standardized processes on an institutional level to improve compliance with prophylactic antibiotic administration.MethodsWe assessed the impact of auditing and notifying providers of SCIP errors on overall compliance with inpatient antibiotic guidelines and on net financial gain or loss to a large tertiary center between March 1st 2010 and September 31st 2013. We hypothesized that direct physician-to-physician feedback would result in significant compliance improvements.ResultsThrough physician notification, our hospital was able to significantly improve SCIP compliance and emphasis on patient safety within a year of intervention implementation. The hospital earned an additional $290,612 in 2011 and $209,096 in 2012 for re-investment in patient care initiatives.ConclusionsProvider education and direct notification of SCIP prophylactic antibiotic dosing errors resulted in improved compliance with national patient improvement guidelines. There were differences between the anesthesiology and surgery department feedback responses, the latter likely attributed to diverse surgical department sub-divisions, frequent changes in resident trainees and supervising attending staff, and the comparative ability. Provider notification of guideline non-compliance should be encouraged as standard practice to improve patient safety. Also, the hospital experienced increased revenue for re-investment in patient care as a secondary result of provider notification.

The impact of electronic health record implementation and use on performance of the Surgical Care Improvement Project measures.

To examine the impact of electronic health record (EHR) deployment on Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures in a tertiary-care teaching hospital. SCIP Core Measure dataset from the CMS Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program (March 2010 to February 2012). One-group pre- and post-EHR logistic regression and difference-in-differences analyses. Statistically significant short-term declines in scores were observed for the composite, postoperative removal of urinary catheter and post-cardiac surgery glucose control measures. A statistically insignificant improvement in scores for these measures was noted 3months after EHR deployment. The transition to an EHR appears to be associated with a short-term decline in quality. Implementation strategies should be developed to preempt or minimize this initial decline.

Optimizing Care of Adults With Congenital Heart Disease in a Pediatric Cardiovascular ICU Using Electronic Clinical Decision Support*

The optimal location for postoperative cardiac care of adults with congenital heart disease is controversial. Some congenital heart surgeons operate on these adults in children's hospitals with postoperative care provided by pediatric critical care teams who may be unfamiliar with adult national performance measures. This study tested the hypothesis that Clinical Decision Support tools integrated into the clinical workflow would facilitate improved compliance with The Joint Commission Surgical Care Improvement Project performance measures in adults recovering from cardiac surgery in a children's hospital. Retrospective chart review comparing compliance pre- and post-Clinical Decision Support intervention for Surgical Care Improvement Project measures addressed in the critical care unit: appropriate cessation of prophylactic antibiotics; controlled blood glucose; urinary catheter removal; and reinitiation of preoperative β-blocker when indicated. Cardiovascular ICU in a quaternary care freestanding children's hospital. The cohort included 114 adults 18-70 years old recovering from cardiac surgery in our pediatric cardiovascular ICU. Clinical Decision Support tools including data-triggered alerts, smart documentation forms, and order sets with conditional logic were integrated into the workflow. Compliance with antibiotic discontinuation was 100% pre- and postintervention. Compliance rates improved for glucose control (p = 0.007) and urinary catheter removal (p = 0.05). Documentation of β-blocker therapy (nonexistent preintervention) was 100% postintervention. Composite compliance for all measures increased from 53% to 84% (p = 0.002). There were no complications related to institution of the Surgical Care Improvement Project measures. There was no in-hospital mortality. Compliance with the national adult postoperative performance measures can be excellent in a children's hospital with the help of Clinical Decision Support tools. This represents an important step toward providing high-quality care to a growing population of adults with congenital heart disease who may receive care in a pediatric center.

Pharmacy Management of Postoperative Blood Glucose in Open Heart Surgery Patients: Evaluation of an Intravenous to Subcutaneous Insulin Protocol

To develop and implement a protocol to improve blood glucose (BG) control during transition from intravenous (IV) to subcutaneous (SC) insulin, increase compliance with Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures, and decrease sternal wound infections post open heart surgery (OHS). An IV to SC protocol was developed and implemented. A retrospective chart review of patients who underwent OHS was conducted from January 2, 2009 to September 30, 2010 (pre protocol) and from October 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011 (post protocol). Data collected included age, sex, history of diabetes mellitus (DM), BG values, hypoglycemia incidence, length of stay, and incidence of sternal wound infections. A total of 243 patients were included in the study. Compliance with SCIP postoperative day 1 and 2 BG goals was similar pre and post protocol (P = .24 and .248). One sternal wound infection occurred after protocol implementation, whereas 6 occurred pre protocol (P = .046). Change in BG when transitioning from IV to SC insulin was similar between the groups, however there were significantly fewer hypoglycemia episodes post protocol (P < .001). Though differences were not found in compliance with SCIP postoperative day 1 and 2 measures, fewer sternal wound infections and hypoglycemic episodes were reported, indicating that the pharmacy protocol may have a positive impact on patient outcomes.

The Effect of Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) Compliance on Surgical Site Infections (SSI)

The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) has developed a set of process compliance measures in an attempt to reduce the incidence of surgical site infections (SSIs). Previous research has been inconclusive on whether compliance with these measures is associated with lower SSI rates. To determine whether hospitals with higher levels of compliance with SCIP measures have lower incidence of SSIs and to identify the measures that are most likely to drive this association. Analysis of linked SCIP compliance rates and SSIs on 295 hospital groups observed annually over the study period 2007-2010. A hospital group comprises all hospitals sharing identical categories for location by state, teaching status, bed size, and urban/rural location. We used a generalized linear model regression with logistic link and binomial family to estimate the association between 3 SCIP measures and SSI rates. Hospital groups with higher compliance rates had significantly lower SSI rates for 2 SCIP measures: antibiotic timing and appropriate antibiotic selection. For a hospital group of median characteristics, a 10% improvement in the measure provision of antibiotic 1 hour before intervention led to a 5.3% decrease in the SSI rates (P<0.05). Rural hospitals had effect sizes several times larger than urban hospitals (P<0.05). A third-core measure, Timely Antibiotic Stop, showed no robust association. This analysis supports a clinically and statistically meaningful relationship between adherence to 2 SCIP measures and SSI rates, supporting the validity of the 2 publicly available healthcare-associated infection metrics.

Prevention of Surgical Site Infection: Beyond SCIP

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a leading cause of patient morbidity and mortality. Each SSI that occurs is associated with approximately seven to 10 additional postoperative hospital days,1,2 and patients with SSIs have a two to 11 times higher risk of death compared to surgical patients without SSIs.3,4 Surgical site infections have now emerged as the most common and most costly cause of health care–associated infection.5,6 Thus, hospitals and health care providers must constantly pursue and improve adherence with evidence-based strategies for preventing these devastating infections. Several core SSI prevention strategies have been promoted by the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), including the appropriate choice and timing of antimicrobial prophylaxis, avoiding shaving surgical site hair, maintaining perioperative patient normothermia, and controlling perioperative blood glucose.7 During the past decade, many, if not most, providers associated with quality improvement and surgical improvement programs in the United States have become familiar with the SCIP recommendations. In fact, health care providers are placing great effort on improving staff member compliance with these recommendations because rates of performance on SCIP measures now affect hospital payment under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Value-Based Purchasing Program.8,9 Compliance with some of the SCIP recommendations is now close to 100%; thus, some of these quality measures have been retired (eg, avoiding surgical site hair shaving). If hospitals are near 100% compliance with some of the basic SCIP recommendations, yet SSIs still occur and harm patients, the question then becomes, “What else can be done?” This column will summarize several additional evidence-based strategies that go beyond SCIP recommendations to prevent SSIs: optimizing antimicrobial prophylaxis dosing, preparing the colon with mechanical bowel preparation and oral antibiotics, optimizing tissue oxygenation, and using a surgical safety checklist.

Description of a multidisciplinary initiative to improve SCIP measures related to pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis compliance: a single-center success story

BackgroundThe Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) was launched in 2005. The core prophylactic perioperative antibiotic guidelines were created due to recognition of the impact of proper perioperative prophylaxis on an estimated annual one million inpatient days and $1.6 billion in excess health care costs secondary to preventable surgical site infections (SSIs). An internal study was conducted to create low cost, standardized processes on an institutional level to improve compliance with prophylactic antibiotic administration.MethodsWe assessed the impact of auditing and notifying providers of SCIP errors on overall compliance with inpatient antibiotic guidelines and on net financial gain or loss to a large tertiary center between March 1st 2010 and September 31st 2013. We hypothesized that direct physician-to-physician feedback would result in significant compliance improvements.ResultsThrough physician notification, our hospital was able to significantly improve SCIP compliance and emphasis on patient safety within a year of intervention implementation. The hospital earned an additional $290,612 in 2011 and $209,096 in 2012 for re-investment in patient care initiatives.ConclusionsProvider education and direct notification of SCIP prophylactic antibiotic dosing errors resulted in improved compliance with national patient improvement guidelines. There were differences between the anesthesiology and surgery department feedback responses, the latter likely attributed to diverse surgical department sub-divisions, frequent changes in resident trainees and supervising attending staff, and the comparative ability. Provider notification of guideline non-compliance should be encouraged as standard practice to improve patient safety. Also, the hospital experienced increased revenue for re-investment in patient care as a secondary result of provider notification.

Optimizing the Safety of Surgery, Before Surgery

Optimizing the Safety of Surgery, Before Surgery

Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP): Has Its Mission Succeeded?

The purpose of this study was to determine if adherence to the surgical care improvement project (SCIP) measures could further reduce rate of surgical site infection (SSI) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients. We retrospectively identified all patients who underwent primary or revision TJA at our institution between July 2000 and June 2009. After implementation of SCIP measures, rate of superficial SSI increased (0.42% versus 0.60%, P=0.05) while rate of deep SSI decreased from 0.92% to 0.82% (P=0.46). The rate of DVT was 0.92% before and 0.83% after implementation of SCIP (P=0.51); however, rate of PE increased from 0.87% to 1.30% (P=0.002). Our findings indicated that SCIP has not been successful in reducing complications in TJA patients.

Surgical care improvement project and surgical site infections: can integration in the surgical safety checklist improve quality performance and clinical outcomes?

IntroductionThe World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) has been shown to decrease surgical site infections (SSI). The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) SSI reduction bundle (SCIP Inf) contains elements to improve SSI rates. We wanted to determine if integration of SCIP measures within our SSC would improve SCIP performance and patient outcomes for SSI. MethodsAn integrated SSC that included perioperative SCIP Inf measures (antibiotic selection, antibiotic timing, and temperature management) was implemented. We compared SCIP Inf compliance and patient outcomes for 1-y before and 1-y after SSC implementation. Outcomes included number of patients with initial post-anesthesia care unit temperature <98.6°F and SSI rates according to our National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data. ResultsImplementation of a SCIP integrated SSC resulted in a significant improvement in antibiotic infusion timing (92.7% [670/723] versus 95.4% [557/584]; P < 0.05), antibiotic selection (96.2% [707/735] versus 98.7% [584/592]; P < 0.01), and temperature management (93.8% [723/771] versus 97.7% [693/709]; P < 0.001). Furthermore, we found a significant reduction in number of patients with initial post-anesthesia care unit temperature <98.6°F from 9.7% (982/10,126) to 6.9% (671/9676) (P < 0.001). Institutional SSI rates decreased from 3.13% (104/3319) to 2.96% (107/3616), but was not significant (P = 0.72). SSI rates according to specialty service were similar for all groups except colorectal surgery (24.1% [19/79] versus 11.5% [12/104]; P < 0.05). ConclusionImplementation of an integrated SSC can improve compliance of SSI reduction strategies such as SCIP Inf performance and maintenance of normothermia. This did not, however, correlate with an improvement in overall SSI at our institution. Further investigation is required to determine other factors that may influence SSI at an institutional level.

Aspirin for the Prophylaxis of Venous Thromboembolic Events in Orthopedic Surgery Patients: A Comparison of the AAOS and ACCP Guidelines with Review of the Evidence

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) have both developed evidence-based guidelines to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE) in high-risk orthopedic surgery patients. Recent changes to these documents have brought them into agreement as to the inclusion of aspirin as an appropriate option for VTE prophylaxis in this patient population. To evaluate the appropriateness of aspirin to prevent VTE in high-risk orthopedic surgery patients. Guidelines published by the AAOS in 2011 and the ACCP in 2012 were compared regarding their recommendations on the use of aspirin for the prevention of VTE. A literature search was also conducted to identify clinical trials that evaluated the use of aspirin for the prevention of VTE in this patient population. Search terms included the MeSH terms venous thromboembolism; venous thrombosis; pulmonary embolism; aspirin; arthroplasty, replacement, knee; arthroplasty, replacement, hip; and hip fractures/surgery. Any study that evaluated aspirin, even in combination with another method of prophylaxis (such as pneumatic compression devices), and had been published during or after 1985 was included. Randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and other large pooled and retrospective reviews have failed to consistently arrive at similar conclusions regarding the efficacy and safety of aspirin as an option for VTE prophylaxis in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA), total hip arthroplasty (THA), or hip fracture surgery (HFS). Disagreements in the appropriateness of surrogate markers for safety and efficacy have resulted in differing recommendations from the ACCP and AAOS. The primary argument lies in the appropriateness of deep vein thrombosis as a surrogate marker for more serious outcomes such as pulmonary emboli. Recent changes to both the ACCP and AAOS guidelines are in agreement for those who choose to use aspirin for chemoprophylaxis of VTE. Current surgical care improvement project measures do not include aspirin as an appropriate sole option for the prevention of VTE, but in patients undergoing elective TKA or who have a contraindication to pharmacologic prophylaxis and undergo a THA or HFS, aspirin in conjunction with compression devices as part of a multimodal approach would meet these measures. Data do not support the hypothesis that aspirin is less likely to cause adverse bleeding events than more potent anticoagulants.