Increasing Compliance With an Antibiotic Prophylaxis Guideline to Prevent Pediatric Surgical Site Infection: Before and After Study.

Objectives: To evaluate an intervention for improving antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) guideline compliance to prevent surgical site infections in children.

Background: Although appropriate AP reduces surgical site infection, and guidelines improve quality of care, changing practice is difficult. To facilitate behavioral change, various barriers need to be addressed.

Antibiotic Prophylaxis to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Children: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To investigate the association between antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) and surgical-site infection in pediatric patients.

Background: Surgical-site infections (SSIs) are a major cause of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Despite numerous studies in adults, benefit of AP in preventing SSIs in children is uncertain.

Development of an Electronic Pediatric All-Cause Harm Measurement Tool Using a Modified Delphi Method.

Objectives: To have impact on reducing harm in pediatric inpatients, an efficient and reliable process for harm detection is needed. This work describes the first step toward the development of a pediatric all-cause harm measurement tool by recognized experts in the field.

Methods: An international group of leaders in pediatric patient safety and informatics were charged with developing a comprehensive pediatric inpatient all-cause harm measurement tool using a modified Delphi technique.

Adverse events among children in Canadian hospitals: the Canadian Paediatric Adverse Events Study.

Background: Limited data are available on adverse events among children admitted to hospital. The Canadian Paediatric Adverse Events Study was done to describe the epidemiology of adverse events among children in hospital in Canada.

Methods: We performed a 2-stage medical record review at 8 academic pediatric centres and 14 community hospitals in Canada.

The value of a quality improvement project in promoting interprofessional collaboration.

The teamwork that is required for interprofessional collaboration in healthcare is not an inherent attribute of the current system, and must be fostered. Education, training, and role modelling are important enablers. From our experience we posit that participating in a quality improvement project can be also be an excellent vehicle to promote interprofessional collaboration.

Attitudes and beliefs, not just knowledge, influence the effectiveness of environmental cleaning by environmental service workers.

Background: Hospital environmental service workers (ESWs) play an important role in interrupting the chain of infection because the environment is a reservoir for nosocomial pathogens. Improving ESWs' knowledge through education has been shown to improve ESW cleaning, but the behavioral determinants of their work have not been studied. Understanding and targeting ESWs' attitudes and beliefs may inform strategies to improve environmental cleaning.

Description of the development and validation of the Canadian Paediatric Trigger Tool.

Objective: To describe the process of developing and validating the Canadian Association of Paediatric Health Centres Trigger Tool (CPTT).

Methods: Five existing trigger tools were consolidated with duplicate triggers eliminated. After a risk analysis and modified Delphi process, the tool was reduced from 94 to 47 triggers.

An outbreak of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in an acute care pediatric hospital: Lessons from environmental screening and a case-control study.

Background: The present study describes a vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) outbreak investigation and a case-control study to identify risk factors for VRE acquisition in a tertiary care pediatric hospital.

Objective: To report an outbreak investigation and a case-control study to identify risk factors for VRE colonization or infection in hospitalized children.

Methods: Screening for VRE cases was performed by culture or polymerase chain reaction.

A study of provider-caregiver communication in paediatric ambulatory care.

Background: Provider-caregiver communication is a key ingredient in quality health care and patient safety, and effective communication has been shown to affect compliance and outcomes.

Objectives: To identify and compare communication issues among three paediatric outpatient clinics.

Methods: In this prospective, qualitative study, a questionnaire was used to survey physicians, nurse practitioners and caregivers at three different infectious diseases clinics.

Identification badges: a potential fomite?

Background: Staff identification badges are mandatory in all hospitals. The purpose of this study was to assess microbial contamination of identification badges at a Canadian tertiary centre. Risk factors for badge contamination were also investigated.

Nosocomial urinary tract infections in children in a pediatric intensive care unit: a follow-up after 10 years.

Objective: To define nosocomial urinary tract infection (NUTI) rates in a pediatric intensive care unit, and determine whether practice recommendations have been sustained after 10 yrs.

Design: Retrospective, descriptive observational study followed by point prevalence audits of duration of urinary tract catheterization.

Setting: A 32-bed pediatric intensive care unit in a multidisciplinary, 300-bed, university-affiliated tertiary care hospital.