Background and Objective: Perioperative antibiotics are widely used in pediatric surgical practice; however, inappropriate selection and prolonged use may contribute to antimicrobial resistance and unnecessary exposure. Appropriate use of perioperative antibiotics is essential to prevent surgical site infections while minimizing antimicrobial resistance, adverse drug reactions, and unnecessary healthcare costs. Despite existing international recommendations, deviations from guideline-based practice remain frequent in pediatric surgical settings. This study aimed to describe patterns of perioperative antibiotic use and assess the appropriateness of prescribing practices in a tertiary care setting, and to identify factors associated with inappropriate antibiotic use.
Methods: A retrospective pharmacoepidemiological study was conducted by reviewing medical records of pediatric patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Kosovo between January 2022 and December 2025 (data lock: December 2025). A total of 650 patients aged 0–18 years who underwent surgical interventions and received perioperative antibiotics for prophylaxis or empirical treatment (defined as antibiotic therapy initiated in the presence of suspected infection) were included. Data collected comprised demographic characteristics, surgical diagnoses, type of surgery, antibiotics prescribed, weight-adjusted dosing, route of administration, timing of initiation, and duration of therapy. Appropriateness of antibiotic use was evaluated based on available documentation and compliance with WHO (2018) and CDC (2017) guidelines regarding indication, antibiotic selection, dosage, timing, and duration. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multivariable logistic regression to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), with statistical significance set at
p < 0.05.
Results: Among the 650 patients, 378 (58.2%) were male and 272 (41.8%) were female, with a mean age of 6.8 ± 4.3 years. The most common types of surgery were abdominal (35.7%), otorhinolaryngological (29.4%), urological (19.1%), and orthopedic (15.8%). Perioperative antibiotics were administered predominantly for prophylaxis (91.5%), while 8.5% of patients received empirical treatment. The most frequently prescribed antibiotics were cefazolin (42.6%), ceftriaxone (34.8%), ampicillin/sulbactam (12.3%), and gentamicin (6.1%). Notably, ceftriaxone was frequently prescribed for prophylactic purposes despite international recommendations generally favoring narrow-spectrum first-line agents for perioperative prophylaxis. Intravenous administration was used in 87.9% of cases. Antibiotic duration was ≤24 h in 61.2% of patients, whereas 38.8% received antibiotics for more than 24 h. Overall, appropriate antibiotic use was identified in 62.9% of cases, while 37.1% were classified as inappropriate. Prolonged antibiotic use beyond 24 h (adjusted OR = 3.87; 95% CI: 2.68–5.58;
p < 0.001) and ceftriaxone use (adjusted OR = 2.41; 95% CI: 1.63–3.55;
p < 0.001), were independently associated with inappropriate antibiotic use.
Conclusions: Perioperative antibiotic use in pediatric tertiary care is highly prevalent, with more than one-third of prescriptions not fully aligned with international recommendations. Prolonged antibiotic duration and the preferential use of broad-spectrum agents, particularly ceftriaxone, were the factors most strongly associated with inappropriate prescribing patterns. These findings highlight the need for improved adherence to guideline-based perioperative antibiotic protocols; however, causal inferences regarding stewardship interventions cannot be drawn from this retrospective study. The findings should be interpreted within the limitations inherent to retrospective observational studies.
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