title: Perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis in pediatric patients in Greece: Compliance with guidelines and impact of an educational intervention.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Appropriate antimicrobial prophylaxis (PAP) prevents surgical site infections (SSI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention to improve adherence to PAP guidelines in pediatric patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A three-phase prospective study with a pre-post design was conducted from April 2013 to December 2014. All patients who underwent one or more surgical procedures were enrolled. A modified Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) Denominator for Procedure form was used to collect clinical and PAP data. The educational intervention was targeted at all pediatric surgeons in the department. Outcomes assessed were the appropriateness of the agent selected for PAP (according to international guidelines) and appropriate termination of PAP within 24h of surgery completion. SSI rates were calculated before and after the intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the study period 889 children were enrolled (219 in the preintervention and 670 in the postintervention period). The percentage of patients receiving appropriate PAP improved from 6.2% to 77.1% after the educational intervention (p<0.001). The median duration of PAP was reduced from 5 to 1days in preintervention and postintervention period, respectively. There was no increase in the rate of SSIs (0.93% and 0.92%, p=0.992, in preinterventionand postintervention, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An educational intervention targeted at pediatric surgeons improved the selection of agent and timely discontinuation of PAP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece. Electronic address: natasa_dimo@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dimopoulou
authors.affiliation: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation-Collaborative Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Outcomes Research (CLEO), University of Athens School of Medicine, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kourlaba
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Alexandros
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Psarris
authors.affiliation: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coffin
authors.affiliation: National Kapodistrian University, Athens, Greece; First Department of Pediatrics, Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Vasiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Spoulou
authors.affiliation: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Theoklis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zaoutis
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019990:Perioperative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents
keywords: Children; Guidelines; Intervention; Perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis