Application of guidelines on preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis in León, Nicaragua

To determine adherence to the guideline for preoperative antibiotic use in Nicaragua.

An observational study in the University Hospital of León, Nicaragua. All surgical patients in the departments of general surgery, orthopaedics, gynaecology and obstetrics, and paediatrics during a four-week period were included. Patients with infections prior to surgery were excluded. Main outcome measures were the proportion of patients that received appropriate preoperative antibiotics based on wound classification, suspected pathogens, administered antibiotics (type and dose), therapy duration and timing according to the local protocol.

In the study, 297 patients received a total of 395 antibiotics with 2595 doses for a total of 1087 days. Only 68% of patients received antibiotic prophylaxis for indications mentioned in the protocol. Antibiotics were given without indication or as treatment in 23%. In 9% of the cases no preoperative antibiotic therapy was given (no indication for 6%, but indicated for 3%). Of the 201 patients with an indication for prophylaxis, 25% received more antibiotic therapies than indicated. Antibiotic choice was discordant with the protocol in 69%, dose in 20%, and both the moment of administration and duration in 78%. Overall adherence was achieved in 7% of patients. Complete protocol violations were observed in 12%. The 243 patients in the prophylaxis group received 1707 doses, 83% of which were administered unnecessarily.

Protocol violations are frequent in preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis in Nicaragua leading to considerable overprescription. Educational strategies to reinforce protocolised antibiotic use are essential for reducing costs and antibiotic resistance rates.