Implementation of a Trauma Bay Checklist Improves Antibiotic Prophylaxis Compliance in Open Extremity Fractures

Best practice guidelines from the ACS recommend that patients with open fractures receive antibiotics within 1-hour of presentation. Checklists are effective mechanisms for improving safety and compliance in surgical settings. The current study investigates implementation of a trauma bay checklist, referred to as MARTY, to improve administration of antibiotics in open extremity fractures at a level I trauma center.

Retrospective pre-post design. Population consisted of trauma alerts from January to December 2021 (pre-MARTY) and 2022 (post-MARTY) with open fractures. Outcome measures included antibiotics administered within 1-hour of presentation and in the trauma bay. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to estimate differences in both measures.

Our sample included 339 encounters, 174 pre-MARTY and 165 post-MARTY implementation. In the pre-MARTY period, 57.5% of encounters received antibiotics within 1-hour of presentation with 46.0% occurring in the trauma bay, in comparison to 65.5% and 54.5% in the post-MARTY period. In adjusted models, there were greater odds of antibiotic administration within 1-hour (OR = 1.654, P = .038) and prior to leaving the trauma bay (OR = 1.660, P = .041) than pre-MARTY. Encounters with higher-grade fractures were more likely to receive timely antibiotics (P<=.001).

Our study estimates improved compliance of antibiotic administration after implementation of MARTY after adjusting for encounter characteristics. Findings from this study demonstrate improved compliance, but this compliance is often still lacking in those with higher injury severity scores. Findings from this study may be used to inform approaches to further improve trauma care.