(Madera, Calif.) – Research contributed by Dr. Vini Vijayan, director of Valley Children’s Pediatric Residency Program and pediatric infectious disease specialist, was recently featured in a special issue of Healthcare focusing on perioperative care.
The study, “Evaluation of Pediatric Surgical Site Infections Associated with Colorectal Surgeries at an Academic Children’s Hospital,” was a collaborative project completed in partnership with physicians from Arkansas Children’s Hospital, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, the University of Arkansas and Valley Children’s Hospital. It examined the adherence to national antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) recommendations in preventing surgical site infections (SSIs) in children who had undergone colorectal surgery and looked at how effective antibiotics were at preventing SSIs in this patient population.
Dr. Vijayan and the team of researchers found several areas of improvement for adherence to the AP recommendations for children undergoing colorectal surgery. They recommend further research and development – using a multidisciplinary approach – of standard protocols and clinical education to improve AP usage, with the goal of reducing the risk for SSI and improving care for children undergoing colorectal surgery.