# Applying the quality improvement cycle to prevent cardiac surgical site infections

## TL;DR

A quality improvement cycle significantly reduced surgical site infections and mediastinitis in cardiac surgery patients at a hospital in Brazil.

## Contribution

Demonstrates the effectiveness of a quality improvement cycle in reducing surgical site infections in cardiac surgery.

## Key findings

- Compliance with perioperative criteria significantly increased.
- A 50.8% reduction in surgical site infections was observed.
- A 74.2% reduction in mediastinitis was achieved.

## Abstract

to assess the effect of a quality improvement cycle for preventing surgical site infections in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

a quasi-experimental before-and-after study with no control group and a quantitative approach. An improvement cycle was conducted, and data were analyzed over a one-year period at a hospital in northeastern Brazil, using nine process criteria and two outcome criteria. The analysis was performed using point estimates with a 95% Confidence Interval. Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were performed, with a p-value <0.05.

there was a significant increase in compliance with perioperative criteria. In the second assessment, a 50.8% reduction in the incidence of surgical site infections and a 74.2% reduction in mediastinitis were observed.

the improvement cycle proved effective as a quality management tool for preventing surgical site infections.

avaliar o efeito de um ciclo de melhoria da qualidade para prevenção de infecção de sítio cirúrgico em pacientes adultos submetidos a cirurgia cardíaca.

estudo quase-experimental do tipo antes e depois, sem grupo controle e abordagem quantitativa. Foi realizado um ciclo de melhoria e os dados analisados dentro do período de um ano, em um hospital no Nordeste do Brasil, utilizando nove critérios de processo e dois de resultado. A análise se deu pela estimativa pontual com intervalo de confiança de 95%. Foram realizados testes quiquadrado e exato de Fisher, com p-valor <0,05.

houve aumento significativo na conformidade dos critérios perioperatórios. Na segunda avaliação verificou-se redução de 50,8% na incidência de infecção de sítio cirúrgico e 74,2% de redução de mediastinite.

o ciclo de melhoria mostrou-se efetivo como ferramenta de gestão da qualidade para prevenção de infecções de sítio cirúrgico.