A standardized perioperative surgical site infection care process among children with stoma closure: a before-after study.

Background: We report on the effectiveness of a standardized perioperative care process for lowering surgical site infection (SSI) rates among children with stoma closure at a tertiary-care public pediatric teaching hospital in Mexico City.
Methods: All consecutive children with stoma closure operated on between November 2003 and October 2005 were prospectively followed for 30 days postoperatively. We conducted a before-after study to evaluate standardized perioperative bowel- and abdominal-wall care process results on SSI rates.
Results: Seventy-one patients were operated on, and all completed follow-up. SSI rates declined from 42.8% (12/28) before to 13.9% (6/43) after the standardization procedure (relative risk (RR) = 3.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.3-7.2; p = 0.006). SSI independently associated risk factors comprised peristomal skin inflammation >3 mm (odds ratio (OR) = 9.6; 95% CI = 1.8-49.6; p = 0.007) and intraoperative complications (OR = 13.3; 95% CI = 1.4-127.2; p = 0.02). Being operated on during the after-study period was shown to be a protective factor against SSI (OR = 0.2; 95% CI = 0.4-0.97; p = 0.04).
Conclusion: Standardization was able to reduce SSI rates threefold in children with stoma closure in a short period of time.