%0 Journal Article
%T Adherence of Surgeons to Antimicrobial Prophylaxis Guidelines in a Tertiary General Hospital in a Rapidly Developing Country
%A Ahmed Abdel-Aziz
%A Ayman El-Menyar
%A Hassan Al-Thani
%A Ahmad Zarour
%A Ashok Parchani
%A Mohammad Asim
%A Rasha El-Enany
%A Haleema Al-Tamimi
%A Rifat Latifi
%J Advances in Pharmacological Sciences
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/842593
%X Objectives. To assess the standard practice of care of surgeons regarding surgical antibiotic prophylaxis, to identify gaps, and to set recommendations. Methods. A retrospective analysis of data obtained from different surgical units in a single center in Qatar over a 3-month period in 2012. A total of 101 patients who underwent surgery and followed regimes for surgical prophylaxis as per hospital guidelines were included in the study. Results. The overall use of antibiotic was 89%, whereas the current practice did not match the recommended hospital protocols in 53.5% of cases. Prolonged antibiotics use (59.3%) was the commonest reason for nonadherence followed by the use of an alternative antibiotic to that recommended in the protocol (31.5%) and no prophylaxis was used in 9.2% of cases. The rate of compliance was significantly higher among clean surgery than clean contaminated group ( ). Forty-four percent of clean and 65% of clean-contaminated procedures showed noncompliance with the recommended surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis hospital guidelines. Conclusion. Lack of adherence to hospital protocols is not uncommon. This finding remains a challenge to encourage clinicians to follow hospital guidelines appropriately and to consistently apply the surgical antibiotic prophylaxis. The role of clinical pharmacist may facilitate this process across all surgical disciplines. 1. Introduction Surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP) is an initial administration of short course of an antimicrobial agent prior to surgery in order to prevent surgical site infections [1]. SAP is critical in preventing infections that may lead to sepsis, organ failure, and death during hospital stay. Despite huge advances in antiseptic measures, antibiotics, and preoperative precautions, surgical site infection (SSIs) still accounted for high morbidity and mortality [2]. SSI is the second most common type of health care-associated infection after urinary tract infections [3]. Also, SSI was reported to represent 14¨C16% of the estimated two-million nosocomial infections affecting hospitalized patients in the United State [4]. It has been reported that at least 5% of patients undergoing a surgical procedure developed SSI [5]. Kirkland et al. [6] showed that patients who developed SSI have 60% more chances of prolonged intensive care unit stay, five fold increased risk of readmission to the hospital and two-times higher rate of mortality compared to patients who had no SSI. One of the most common microorganisms that are involved in SSI is Staphylococcus aureus, which is reportedly
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aps/2013/842593/