Audit of antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery

Objective: Evaluation of antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery. Design: Cross- sectional study. Setting: Regional healthcare facility. Material and methods: This study assessed patients (>= 18 years old) who underwent a surgical operation in the defined period and agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected through the form for antibiotic prophylaxis perioperative record (identification and gender, information about surgical operation, choice of antibiotic, dose of antibiotic, time of administration and duration of it), and from the medical records. Collected data were compared with evidence-based medicine and internal hospital standards. The descriptive statistics were used for evaluation. Results: 197 patients (103 men and 94 women) with average age of 56.5 years attended the study. Urological procedure was most frequently observed in 43 (21.8%) patients. 125 (63.5%) patients received antibiotic prophylaxis. The indication of the antibiotic prophylaxis was correct in 86.9% with the internal hospital standards and in 88.9% with the evidence- based medicine. Cefazolin was administered in the 52% of surgical procedures. Based on the detailed evaluation, some areas for revision have been identified in the internal hospital standards. It is necessary to define the general principles for antibiotic prophylaxis, to consider individual patient characteristics and more detailed specification of the individual surgical operations. Conclusion: Some contradictions with the evidence-based medicine have been identified in the internal hospital standard for antibiotic prophylaxis. Certain differences from the internal hospital standards as well as evidence-based medicine have been found in the evaluation of antibiotic prophylaxis in practice.