Way to go! VGH team takes top prize for pilot project to prevent surgical site infections
Last week, a Vancouver General Hospital team led by Dr. Elizabeth Bryce was recognized at a prestigious international conference for their Pre-Surgical Decolonization Pilot Project that reduced surgical site infections by 39 per cent.
The VGH team competed against 40 international teams to win the Innovation Award of Excellence from the International Consortium for Prevention & Infection Control (ICPIC), which highlights innovations in the practice of infection control and prevention of anti-microbial resistance.
Why the focus on SSIs?
Patients who develop infections after surgery are five times more likely to be readmitted to a hospital, and twice as likely to die. On average, SSIs require an extended hospital stay of eight days in an acute care setting and add hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs to the Canadian health care system every year.
About the pilot
The Pre-Surgical Decolonization Project was a 12-month non-antibiotic pilot involving more than 5,000 patients who were treated with MRSAid™ photodisinfection therapy prior to major surgery. Photodisinfection kills potentially harmful bacteria, viruses and fungi harboured on a patient with non-thermal light energy.
“Our pilot marked the first time this combination of non-pharmaceutical therapies has been used in a hospital in North America to reduce SSIs,” says Dr. Bryce, regional medical director of infection prevention and control at VCH.
When combined with chlorhexidine body wipes prior to surgery, the pilot saw SSIs decrease by 39 per cent and the number of readmissions due to SSIs decline from four to 1.25 cases per month. Photodisinfection was found to decrease the amount specific bacteria examined in the study in 80 per cent of cases.
The MRSAid™ photodisinfection pilot has saved VGH more than $1 million in costs associated with treating patients who develop SSIs. “This technology not only has the potential to prevent infections but the money saved can then be reinvested into direct patient care. I’m very honoured and thrilled to receive this award on behalf of our research team and to further explore infection control techniques.” says Dr. Bryce.
Special thanks to the people who made it happen
- Surgery: Bas Masri; Gary Redekop
- Perioperative Services: Debbie Jeske; Claire Johnston; Kelly Barr; Shelly Errico; Anna-Marie MacDonald; Tammy Thandi; Lorraine Haas; Pauline Goundar; Lucia Allocca; Dawn Breedveld; Steve Kabanuk
- Infection Control: Elizabeth Bryce; Chandi Panditha; Leslie Forrester; Diane Louke; Tracey Woznow
- Medical Microbiology: Diane Roscoe; Titus Wong
- Patient Safety: Linda Dempster
- Ondine Biomedical: Shelagh Weatherill et al
Special Thanks: microbiology technologists, and perioperative staff andVGH & UBC Hospital Foundation that provided funding for the pilot.
Photodisinfection technology
The photodisinfection technology used was developed by Ondine Biomedical Inc
How the prize money will be used
The team was awarded prize money of 10,000 Swiss Francs (approximately $11,000 CAD) that will be reinvested to further advance photodisinfection technology across the region.
About ICPIC
ICPIC is an international conference that brings together more than 1,200 leaders in infection control from 84 countries. The goal is to exchange best practices, highlight current research in the field and share innovations in infection control.