Compliance with surgical site infection prevention measures in hospitals

Objective: To assess compliance with actions for surgical site infection prevention and control, adopted in clinical practice in accordance with the recommendations proposed by the World Health Organization: auditing the moment of antibiotic administration, trichotomy with an electric clipper/disposable blade, material sterility confirmation, and surveillance and dissemination of surgical site infection rates. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study, carried out in 30 hospitals in the state of Minas Gerais, from February 2018 to April 2019, based on an audit of a surgical procedure, situational diagnosis and interview with Hospital Infection Control Services. Results In 93.3% of Hospital Infection Control Services, protocols for prophylactic antibiotic use and compliance audits were reported, 69% reported trichotomy with an electric clipper. All carried out surgical site infection surveillance, however, only 63.3% carried out rate disclosure. In the situational diagnosis, trichotomy was performed in 76.7% inside the operating room with an electric clipper (56.7%). In the audit of the moment of antimicrobial administration between 30-60 minutes before surgical incision, compliance was identified in 63.3%; 93.3% of services confirmed material sterility through process indicators. Conclusion: Differences were found between recommendations from the Hospital Infection Control Service and compliance with good practices during situational diagnosis and auditing of surgical procedures, reinforcing the need for training and audits aimed at effectively complying with professionals’ practices regarding such measures.