The Journal of hospital infection
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Comparative Study
Quality of local guidelines for surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis.
Surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (AMP) is an effective measure to prevent surgical site infections. To determine the quality and availability of local guidelines for AMP, a survey was conducted in the public hospitals of a Northern Italian region. The guidelines for "Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Surgery" by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) were used as a standard by which the quality of the local guidelines was compared. ⋯ Only 8% of all procedure-specific guidelines (PSG) recommended an incorrect timing of AMP (not administering AMP at the induction of anaesthesia), while 41% recommended an incorrect duration (additional antimicrobial doses after completion of the surgical operation). This survey showed that having written protocols at local level does not necessarily mean they comply with available scientific evidence. Thus, the quality of local guidelines needs to be improved.