Knowledge, awareness, and attitude towards infection prevention and management among surgeons: identifying the surgeon champion

Despite evidence supporting the effectiveness of best practices of infection prevention and management, many surgeons worldwide fail to implement them. Evidence-based practices tend to be underused in routine practice. Surgeons with knowledge in surgical infections should provide feedback to prescribers and integrate best practices among surgeons and implement changes within their team. Identifying a local opinion leader to serve as a champion within the surgical department may be important. The “surgeon champion” can integrate best clinical practices of infection prevention and management, drive behavior change in their colleagues, and interact with both infection control teams in promoting antimicrobial stewardship.

Raising concerns about the Sepsis-3 definitions

The Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery appreciates the great effort of the task force who derived and validated the Sepsis-3 definitions and considers the new definitions an important step forward in the evolution of our understanding of sepsis. Nevertheless, more than a year after their publication, we have a few concerns regarding the use of the Sepsis-3 definitions.

The management of intra-abdominal infections from a global perspective: 2017 WSES guidelines for management of intra-abdominal infections

Intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) are common surgical emergencies and have been reported as major contributors to non-trauma deaths in the emergency departments worldwide. The cornerstones of effective treatment of IAIs are early recognition, adequate source control, and appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Prompt resuscitation of patients with ongoing sepsis is of utmost important. In hospitals worldwide, non-acceptance of, or lack of access to, accessible evidence-based practices and guidelines result in overall poorer outcome of patients suffering IAIs. The aim of this paper is to promote global standards of care in IAIs and update the 2013 WSES guidelines for management of intra-abdominal infections.

The Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery: defining a model for antimicrobial stewardship-results from an international cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) have been promoted to optimize antimicrobial usage and patient outcomes, and to reduce the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant organisms. However, the best strategies for an ASP are not definitively established and are likely to vary based on local culture, policy, and routine clinical practice, and probably limited resources in middle-income countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate structures and resources of antimicrobial stewardship teams (ASTs) in surgical departments from different regions of the world.

METHODS

A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted in 2016 on 173 physicians who participated in the AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance for Optimizing their Rational Use in Intra-Abdominal Infections) project and on 658 international experts in the fields of ASPs, infection control, and infections in surgery.

RESULTS

The response rate was 19.4%. One hundred fifty-six (98.7%) participants stated their hospital had a multidisciplinary AST. The median number of physicians working inside the team was five [interquartile range 4-6]. An infectious disease specialist, a microbiologist and an infection control specialist were, respectively, present in 80.1, 76.3, and 67.9% of the ASTs. A surgeon was a component in 59.0% of cases and was significantly more likely to be present in university hospitals (89.5%, p < 0.05) compared to community teaching (83.3%) and community hospitals (66.7%). Protocols for pre-operative prophylaxis and for antimicrobial treatment of surgical infections were respectively implemented in 96.2 and 82.3% of the hospitals. The majority of the surgical departments implemented both persuasive and restrictive interventions (72.8%). The most common types of interventions in surgical departments were dissemination of educational materials (62.5%), expert approval (61.0%), audit and feedback (55.1%), educational outreach (53.7%), and compulsory order forms (51.5%).

CONCLUSION

The survey showed a heterogeneous organization of ASPs worldwide, demonstrating the necessity of a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach in the battle against antimicrobial resistance in surgical infections, and the importance of educational efforts towards this goal.

Accidental injuries and cutaneous contaminations during general surgical operations in a Nigerian teaching hospital

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of accidental injuries and body contaminations among the operating personnel during general surgical operation, those involved, the circumstances surrounding the injuries or body contaminations and the factors affecting the prevalence in a unit of a teaching hospital in Nigeria.

DESIGN

Patients operated for general surgical conditions in a unit of a Teaching Hospital Complex during a period of two years (1997-1998) were studied. A proforma was designed to enter personal biodata, preoperative and intra-postoperative clinical information of all the patients.

SETTING

Wesley Guild Hospital a unit of teaching hospital complex serving the large agrarian rural and semi-urban Nigerians.

PATIENTS

Five hundred and eighty nine consecutive general surgical patients. All types of general surgical operations were included, emergency or elective, major or minor, carried out during the day or at night.

INTERVENTION

All the patients were operated and operating personnel observed for sharp injuries and body contamination.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Incidence of sharp injuries and cutaneous contamination and personnel at risk determined.

RESULTS

Operating personnel sustained 62 sharp injuries (10.5%), these were caused by suture needle in 57 cases (92.0%), towel clips in three (4.8%), knife cut in two (3.2%). Operating physicians sustained 56 cases of sharp injuries (90.3%) and Scrub Nurses in six (9.7 %). Self-inflicted sharp injuries in 49 (79 %) and in 12 cases (21%) injuries were inflicted by the surgeons or their assistants. Left hand was injured in 39 cases (63%) and right in 23 (37%). Cutaneous or mucosa membrane contamination with blood or body fluid occurred in 232 cases (39.4 %). These were made up of wet gown contamination in 124(53.5 %), glove failure in 72(31%) and splashing of blood or fluids into the face or eyes in 36 cases (15.5 %). Contamination occurred in more than one operating personnel in more than half of the cases. Operating surgeons were affected in 211 cases (91%). The risks of accidental injuries and blood and body fluid contamination were significant, if the duration of the operation was more than one hour, among the operating surgeons and if the operation was major (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study has demonstrated that cutaneous, percutaneous, and mucous membrane exposure to patients blood and body fluids are common events during general surgical operations. Most accidental injuries were due to solid suture needle-sticks, mostly injured personnel were the primary operating surgeons, injuries occurred predominantly on the left hand. This may poses a significant risk of infection with blood borne pathogens when operating on infected patients.