Hawaii ACP

Background

Hand and wrist injuries, also known as hand trauma, are common worldwide and often require surgery, especially when they are open injuries.

Surgical site infections (SSI) are the most common healthcare associated infections and occur in at least 1 in 10 hand trauma patients.

SSI following hand surgery is associated with increased antibiotic prescription, delayed rehabilitation and further operative procedures.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have produced global guidelines for SSI prevention. We don’t know how these apply to hand trauma surgery.

Aims

The aim of this audit is to assess how these guidelines are currently implemented in hand trauma surgery and to explore which antimicrobial interventions are currently in use in this population.

Team Structure

Within each site, a team consisting of a consultant or associate specialist and one of the following: doctors in training, advanced or surgical care practitioners, hand therapists, research nurses or medical students. The team will be required to collect data on 20 consecutive patients. Multiple collaborator teams can be present within each unit, consisting of 1 consultant or associate specialist and 1 health professional from the above list.

Authorship

Teams who have submitted a minimum of 20 complete records will be eligible for co-authorship on all publications originating from the study, provided participation in the writing or approval of final manuscripts are met. Teams providing fewer than 20 complete records or those who choose not to participate in writing and approving manuscripts will be named under acknowledgments.