Antimicrobial Stewardship in Skin Cancer Surgery. Assessing Best Practice in Reducing Significant Post-Operative Complications

Introduction Antibiotic prescription is variable and with the growing frequency of antibiotic resistance, responsible use of antibiotics is necessary in keeping with Public Health England (PHE) Antimicrobial Stewardship guidelines. An audit was conducted to assess current practice of prophylactic antibiotics prescription in Skin Cancer Surgery in the department of Oral & Maxillofacial surgery. Method A retrospective case note review of patients who had undergone reconstructive surgery following skin cancer excision, recorded use of systemic and topical antibiotics and infective outcomes. Inclusion criteria were patients that had undergone surgical excision and reconstruction of skin cancer, followed by a wound assessment in an outpatient’s clinic with the outcome measure of infection defined by PHE Surgical Site Infection guidelines. A standard of 5% infection rate which is recognised by the British Association of Dermatologists was used. Results There was a 2% significant post op infection rate in patients with topical antibiotics used and 4.5% where neither systemic nor topical antibiotics were used. Immunocompromised patients had no increased incidence in significant post op infections occurring in either group. Conclusions The standard was met illustrating the low infection rate following reconstruction of Skin Cancer defects with or without prophylactic antibiotics and support a more discerning approach to antimicrobial prescribing.

Citation

Walker, K., Keward, A., Botha, E., & Knepil, G. (2021). Antimicrobial stewardship in skin cancer surgery: Assessing best practice in reducing significant post-operative complications. British Journal of Surgery, 108(Supplement_2), znab134.392. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjs/znab134.392

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1093/bjs/znab134.392

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14709/1110