Applying the quality improvement cycle to prevent cardiac surgical site infections

to assess the effect of a quality improvement cycle for preventing surgical site infections in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

a quasi-experimental before-and-after study with no control group and a quantitative approach. An improvement cycle was conducted, and data were analyzed over a one-year period at a hospital in northeastern Brazil, using nine process criteria and two outcome criteria. The analysis was performed using point estimates with a 95% Confidence Interval. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were performed, with a p-value <0.05.

there was a significant increase in compliance with perioperative criteria. In the second assessment, a 50.8% reduction in the incidence of surgical site infections and a 74.2% reduction in mediastinitis were observed.

the improvement cycle proved effective as a quality management tool for preventing surgical site infections.