Insufficient reporting of infections after ear, nose and throat surgery

In Denmark, it is compulsory to report post-operative infections (PI) to the Danish Health and Medicines Authority. The aims of the present study were to determine, firstly, the incidence of PI following elective ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery as well as the number of cases reported to the Danish health authorities; secondly, the PI distribution in various surgical subgroups; and, thirdly, the extent to which the guidelines on prophylactic antibiotics had been followed.

The study was carried out prospectively at the ENT department, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, from 1 February to 30 April 2011. A total of 362 elective surgical procedures were evaluated in order to identify signs of PI. In case of PI, the following were registered: diagnosis, type of operative procedure and whether the patient had received prophylactic antibiotics according to instructions given at the Department. The ENT doctors were to hand in completed PI reporting schedules to one of the authors.

PI occurred in 40 patients, i.e. 11%. Seven (18%) of the 40 cases were reported to the Danish Health and Medicines Authority. The lowest rate of PI was observed after otosurgical procedures (6%) and the highest rate (13%) after head and neck (HN) procedures. Guidelines on prophylactic antibiotics were most frequently ignored in the HN group (30%).

To improve the reporting of PI, it is recommended to implement simple, less time-consuming and electronically available procedures. Furthermore, the present results indicate that it is necessary to more meticulously use prophylactic antibiotics and strict aseptic procedures.

not relevant.

not relevant.