Introduction:

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are among the most frequent healthcare-associated infections (HCIs). Antibiotic prophylaxis administered during the preoperative period contributes to preventing SSIs.

Objective:

to determine if the antimicrobial regimens used for prophylaxis in surgery correspond to those recommended by International Guidelines for the Treatment of Infectious Diseases; as well as knowing the antimicrobial regimens used, estimating the cost of chemoprophylaxis and comparing the current results with those obtained in a similar study carried out in the same service in 2005.

Materials and methods:

This was a descriptive, observational and retrospective study where we reviewed all medical records of patients ≤15 years of age undergoing appendectomy, with a post-surgical diagnosis of congestive or phlegmonous appendicitis, from January to December 2022. An electronic spreadsheet was prepared where the following data were uploaded: antibiotic used, dose, number of doses and time of administration.

Results:

53 patients ≤ 15 years of age underwent appendectomy, of which 21 met the inclusion criteria. Amoxicillin/Sulbactam was used in 19/21. The total number of doses administered was 68 doses and the average was 3.3±1.9 doses; only in 8 of the patients was the prophylactic antimicrobial administered at the correct time; only 1 patient received the correct regimen, 1 single dose, 1 hour before the start of surgery. The cost of antimicrobial prophylaxis per patient was 15.7 USD.

Conclusions:

This study allowed us to verify the lack of application of existing guidelines in the use of antimicrobials in surgical prophylaxis, which demonstrates: i) the need to review and standardize prescription behavior related to surgical prophylaxis, ii) the importance of developing and disseminating an antimicrobial management guide and iii) the need to monitor its implementation.

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