Auditing and Improving Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis.

BACKGROUND: There is extensive evidence of the efficacy of anti-microbial drugs in preventing infections from surgical efforts. Our objective was to describe the results obtained in our annual surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) audit in the years 2013-2017. METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study of SAP in surgical procedures carried out between 2013 and 2017 in a tertiary-level hospital. We examined the results from the services of general surgery, vascular surgery, neurosurgery, the breast unit, otolaryngology, maxillofacial surgery, traumatology, urology, pediatric surgery, gynecology, and plastic surgery. RESULTS: Establishment of six process quality indicators and their evaluation in the annual audit were carried out by the pharmacy service for approximately 500 operations. The indicators that had a high percentage of compliance were indication for SAP, choice of anti-microbial agent, dose and route of administration, and administration of an intra-operative dose when this was appropriate. In contrast, time of administration of the first dose and duration of prophylaxis had a worse percentage of compliance. CONCLUSIONS: Compliance with the SAP protocols in our hospital is high. We consider that these better results are attributable to the establishment of quality indicators of SAP and to the annual audit that evaluates said indicators. Communication of the results obtained in the audit to the surgical services, which have as part of their objectives included in their management contracts compliance with said SAP protocols, encourages improvement. The use of prophylaxis kits is an improvement strategy that facilitates the correct choice of anti-microbial agent and prevents SAP from being prolonged inappropriately.

Effectiveness of a pilot intervention to reduce abciximab-related bleeding in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Reducing bleeding events is a priority in patients diagnosed with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). The effectiveness of optimization measures for reducing abciximab-related bleeding was evaluated through the implementation of a pilot program developed by the Pharmacy and the Cardiology Departments at a tertiary-care hospital. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Percentage of bleeding events. RESULTS: Intervention was effective in reducing the incidence of the three factors associated with an increased risk of bleeding between the pre-intervention phase (n = 86) and the post-intervention phase (n = 73): unknown body weight (24.4 vs. 1.4 %, p = 0.0001), overdosing (31.4 vs. 0 %, p < 0.0001) and combination with bivalirudin (12.8 vs. 1.4 %, p = 0.016). Bleeding events associated with these factors were numerically reduced in all three cases but these differences were not statistically significant between both periods. CONCLUSION: The implementation of a multidisciplinary prevention program can reduce situations associated with an increased risk of bleeding in patients treated with abciximab. Larger scale trials are needed to confirm whether such programs can also reduce the incidence of bleeding at a statistically significant level.

Prescribing errors intercepted by clinical pharmacists in paediatrics and obstetrics in a tertiary hospital in Spain.

PURPOSE: To assess the main differences in clinical significance of the prescribing errors intercepted by clinical pharmacists in paediatrics and obstetrics and the reasons for these prescribing errors, as well as the differences in pharmacists' activity indicators. METHODS: The was a cross-sectional epidemiological study analysing the activities of paediatric pharmacists in a maternity and children's hospital with 180 paediatric beds and 138 obstetrics and gynaecology beds between January 2007 and December 2009. The following variables were analysed: clinical significance of prescribing errors intercepted, reason for the error, impact of the intervention by pharmacist, acceptance rate of the recommendation made, medication involved, intervention detection date and observations. RESULTS: A total of 2,449 interventions in medical orders were recorded. Interventions that were not accepted by doctors were excluded, leaving 43 cases (2.1%) of extremely significant interventions and 170 (8.4%) very significant interventions. Interventions in what were deemed to be error-free situations were excluded. Significance testing (based on 2,035 errors detected) showed that 1.7% of the detected errors were potentially lethal (35 cases), while 10.2% (210 cases) were clinically serious. The main reason for the interventions was the detection of a dosage between 1.5- and tenfold higher than the recommended dosage. The overall rate of acceptance of the pharmacist's suggestions was 92.2%. Pharmacists carried out an average of 0.016 interventions/patient-day throughout the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Paediatric patients had a fourfold higher risk of serious errors than the maternity population. Pharmacist intervention had a major impact on reducing prescribing errors in the study period, thus improving the quality and efficiency of care provided.

Impact of clinical pharmacist interventions in reducing paediatric prescribing errors.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of pharmacist intervention in reducing prescribing errors in paediatrics, and to analyse the clinical significance and reasons behind the errors detected. METHODS: Cross-sectional epidemiological study analysing the activities of the paediatric pharmacist in a maternity and children's hospital with 180 paediatric beds, between January 2007 and December 2009. The following variables were analysed: impact of the pharmacist's recommendation on patient care, reason for the intervention, clinical significance, type of negative outcome associated with the medication, acceptance rate, medication involved, intervention detection date and observations. RESULTS: A total of 1475 interventions in medical orders for 14,713 paediatric patients were recorded (40 (2.9%) extremely significant interventions and 155 (11.1%) very significant interventions). There were 1357 prescribing errors, 833 of which were dosing errors. 2.2% of the errors detected were potentially fatal (30 cases) and 14.3% (194 cases) were clinically serious. The main reason for interventions was detection of a dosage between 1.5 and 10 times higher than that recommended. The overall rate of acceptance of the pharmacist's suggestions was 94.3%. The pharmacist carried out an average of 0.019 interventions per patient day throughout the study period. CONCLUSION: Interventions by a clinical pharmacist had a major impact on reducing prescribing errors in the study period, thus improving the quality and safety of care provided.

Developing a programme for medication reconciliation at the time of admission into hospital.

The aim of this article is to describe the methods used to develop the medication reconciliation programme implemented in a tertiary care hospital, and to discuss the main problems encountered and lessons learned during the process. A quasi-experimental study was carried out, analysing discrepancies between routine medication and drugs prescribed in the hospital, before and after an electronic reconciliation tool was introduced at admission. This tool was integrated into the computerized provider order entry system. The implementation of the electronic reconciliation tool has shown a reduction of the rate of discrepancies, decreasing from 7.24% (CI 95% 6.0-8.5) before the intervention to 4.18% (CI 95% 3.2-5.1) afterwards. Projects like this are costly, but this study has made it possible to detect numerous areas where interventions could be useful and proved the importance of a medication reconciliation programme.

Demanda de atención hospitalaria por gripe A/H1N1: evaluación de los primeros 1.000 casos atendidos / Hospital care of patients with A/H1N1 influenza: Evaluation of the first 1000 reported cases in Spain

Introducción y objetivos: A pesar del enorme impacto que se prevé tenga la pandemia por gripe A/H1N1 en países del hemisferio norte, todavía son escasos los datos disponibles de su repercusión a nivel hospitalario. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar la asistencia prestada a los pacientes atendidos por posible gripe A y su evolución en un hospital de tercer nivel.Material y método: Desde la aparición de los primeros casos se estableció un circuito específico de atención a pacientes con posible gripe A en la unidad de admisión, urgencias y hospitalización. Se diseñó un registro nominal con variables epidemiológicas y variables clínicas.Resultados: A 31 de agosto de 2009 se habían evaluado 1.018 pacientes por posible gripe A, de los que el 77% cumplía criterios clínicos. Entre los pacientes con sospecha de gripe A, la edad media (desviación estándar) fue de 31,71 (17,2) años, el 52% eran mujeres, un 3,3% de ellas embarazadas o puérperas. Ingresó el 23,4%, y la estancia media global fue de 3,5 días y de 2,5 días para los adultos que ingresaron en la unidad de corta estancia. Un 2,8% presentó neumonía y 2 pacientes necesitaron atención en unidad de cuidados intensivos (uno de ellos falleció).Conclusiones: Nuestra serie muestra una epidemia de gripe que se comporta de forma benigna con un porcentaje considerable de neumonías, pero que evolucionan favorablemente. A pesar del alto porcentaje de ingresos, y para evitar el menoscabo de la atención a otros enfermos, consideramos que un modelo asistencial basado en unidades específicas, estancias cortas y seguimiento posthospitalario puede ser adecuado (AU)

Introduction and objectives: Influenza A is expected to have a great impact in countries in the northern hemisphere yet little has been reported about how this outbreak can affect hospital care. The aim of this study is to assess patients who demand care for flu symptoms and their outcome. Material and methods: From the beginning of the outbreak a specific protocol was established for the care of patients with potential influenza A in admission, emergency and hospitalization ward. A nominal registry was designed with clinical and epidemiological data.Results: 1018 patients were evaluated for potential influenza A from the beginning of the outbreak until the 31st August, 2009. 77% of them fulfilled clinical criteria and were classified as suspected cases. Mean age was 31,7 years (SD17,2), 52% were women, 3,3% pregnant or puerperal. The admission rate was 23,4% with a global mean stay of 3,5 days, and 2,5 for the adults who were admitted to the short stay hospital unit. 2,8 % had pneumonia, two patients required admission to the intensive care unit and one of them died.Conclusions: Our data show an outbreak with mild illness, with a remarkable percentage of pneumonia but with good outcome. Despite of the high percentage of admissions, and in order to avoid the misleading attention to other patients, we believe that an assistance model based in specific units, short stay and post-discharge follow up could be suitable (AU)

[Hospital care of patients with A/H1N1 influenza: evaluation of the first 1000 reported cases in Spain]. / Demanda de atención hospitalaria por gripe A/H1N1: evaluación de los primeros 1.000 casos atendidos.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Influenza A is expected to have a great impact in countries in the northern hemisphere yet little has been reported about how this outbreak can affect hospital care. The aim of this study is to assess patients who demand care for flu symptoms and their outcome. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From the beginning of the outbreak a specific protocol was established for the care of patients with potential influenza A in admission, emergency and hospitalization ward. A nominal registry was designed with clinical and epidemiological data. RESULTS: 1018 patients were evaluated for potential influenza A from the beginning of the outbreak until the 31(st) August, 2009. 77% of them fulfilled clinical criteria and were classified as suspected cases. Mean age was 31,7 years (SD17,2), 52% were women, 3,3% pregnant or puerperal. The admission rate was 23,4% with a global mean stay of 3,5 days, and 2,5 for the adults who were admitted to the short stay hospital unit. 2,8 % had pneumonia, two patients required admission to the intensive care unit and one of them died. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show an outbreak with mild illness, with a remarkable percentage of pneumonia but with good outcome. Despite of the high percentage of admissions, and in order to avoid the misleading attention to other patients, we believe that an assistance model based in specific units, short stay and post-discharge follow up could be suitable.