[Computerized physician order entry of pharmacotherapeutic protocols in a colorectal surgery unit]

Computerized physician order entry was introduced in our hospital. We present the pharmacotherapeutic protocols that we use in patient care.

Six pharmaceutical protocols were designed by consensus in a colorectal surgery unit and were applied over a 2-year period. Patients undergoing ambulatory or urgent surgery were excluded.

We treated 772 patients. Two hundred twenty patients (28.5%) were assigned to the preoperative protocol for minor proctologic surgery. After surgery, all 220 patients were included in the postoperative protocol for minor proctologic surgery. The remaining 552 patients (71.5%) were assigned to the protocol for major colorectal surgery. The preoperative protocol for major colorectal surgery was indicated in 542 patients (98.2%) and its variant for patients allergic to beta-lactam antibiotics was used in 10 patients (1.8%). The postoperative pharmacotherapeutic protocol assigned depended on whether a central venous line (317 patients; 57.4%) or only peripheral venous access (235 patients; 42.6%) was used.

Each clinical unit has a duty to carry out and update consensus protocols (always based on the best scientific evidence available) that can be used in the processes managed in that unit. The use of these protocols shows a high degree of acceptance among physicians and nurses, allowing clinical practice to be standardized and healthcare processes to be homogenized.