World journal for pediatric & congenital heart surgery
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World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg · Jul 2017
Multicenter StudyMulticenter Quality Improvement Project to Prevent Sternal Wound Infections in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Patients.
Children undergoing cardiac surgery are at risk for sternal wound infections (SWIs) leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Single-center quality improvement (QI) initiatives have demonstrated decreased infection rates utilizing a bundled approach. This multicenter project was designed to assess the efficacy of a protocolized approach to decrease SWI. ⋯ A multicenter QI project to reduce pediatric SWIs demonstrated an extension of days between infections and a decrease in SWIs. Patients who received preop antibiotics on time had lower SWI rates than those who did not.