Questionnaire-based Survey on the Prevention of Surgical Site Infection after the Publication of Its Guidelines for Neurosurgery in Japan

In recent years, the Japanese neurosurgical field has been added to the guidelines for the appropriate use of antimicrobial agents for the prevention of surgical site infection; however, the awareness of neurosurgeons and specific methods for surgical site infection prevention in the Japanese neurosurgical field remains unclear. Therefore, we report a repeat survey conducted after the addition of guidelines on the appropriate use of antimicrobial agents for the prevention of surgical site infection and compare it with our previous survey on surgical site infection prevention conducted in 2018. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted via the Internet among members of the Japanese Neurosurgical Society and the Japanese Society of Chemotherapy. The survey response rate was 34.1% (270/792). More than 90% of the respondents were facility directors or specialists, and their institutions were universities and private hospitals. Cefazolin sodium was used in 88% of cases, and the percentage of cases started immediately before surgery increased to 85% (65% in the previous survey). Intraoperative administration intervals were most frequent every 3 hours (62%). Preoperative hair washing was performed by 76% of patients, a rate lower than that reported in the previous survey. Approximately 89% used partial removal, 75% used povidone-iodine for surgical field disinfection, double gloves were used by 46%, and antibacterial sutures by only 36% of surgeons. Compared with the 2018 survey, improvements were observed in the use of antibiotics for which guidelines were developed; however, other aspects of surgical site infection prevention need to be clarified, and guidelines for surgical site infection in the field of neurosurgery are necessary.