Surgical Infections and Prophylactic Antibiotics
One core measure set by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is to give a patient prophylactic (or preventive) antibiotics before a surgical procedure. Studies have shown that if an antibiotic is given in less than an hour, the chances of infection decrease dramatically. The chart below shows Vanderbilt Medical Center's positive results in implementing this process.
*Abs= antibiotics
*Abs= antibiotics
What This Graph Shows You
As of June 2006, the number of post-operative infections is less than 1 in 100, and 85% of patients received the appropriate timely prophylactic antibiotics following surgery.