Promoting best practice in infection prevention in general surgery through education.

Introduction Surgical patients are particularly at risk of healthcare associated infection (H C A I) by virtue of the presence of a surgical site leading to surgical site infections (S S I) and because of the need for intravascular access resulting in catheter-related bloodstream infection (C R B S I). Methods A two-year initiative commenced with an initial audit of surgical practice which was used to inform the development of a targeted educational initiative by surgeons specific for surgical trainees. Parameters assessed during initial and repeat audits after the educational initiative included intra- and post-operative aspects of the prevention o f S S I as well as the care of peripheral venous cannulae (P V C ) in surgical patients. Results The proportion of prophylactic antibiotics administered pre-incision across 360 operations increased from 30% to 59.1% (p Conclusion Significant improvements were seen in surgical practice in S S I and C R B S I prevention through a focused educational programme developed by and for surgeons