Optimizing skin antisepsis for neonatal surgery: A quality improvement initiative.

Purpose: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a significant determinant of morbidity in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Chlorhexidine gluconate/isopropyl alcohol (CHG-IPA) skin prep has demonstrated superiority over Povidone-Iodine (PI) in preventing SSIs in adults, however FDA labeling discourages CHG use in infants <2 months. This project aimed to i) create evidence for safe CHG skin antisepsis in neonates; and ii) evaluate the safety and effectiveness of CHG skin prep for neonatal surgery.

Improving the paediatric surgery patient experience: an 8-year analysis of narrative quality data.

Background: Narrative data about the patient experience of surgery can help healthcare professionals and administrators better understand the needs of patients and their families as well as provide a foundation for improvement of procedures, processes and services. However, units often lack a methodological framework to analyse these data empirically and derive key areas for improvement. The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) is aimed at improving the quality of surgical care by collecting patient data and reporting risk-adjusted surgical outcomes for each participant hospital in the programme.