First NHS pilot of nasal photodisinfection for the prevention of post-surgical infections starts at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust

The pilot will assess the effect of nasal photodisinfection on 500 elective surgery patients at Pontefract Hospital

Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust has this week started the first UK pilot evaluation of nasal photodisinfection for the prevention of surgical site infections. The six-month pilot will see 500 elective hip and knee surgery patients nasally decolonized using Ondine Biomedical’s Steriwave® nasal photodisinfection prior to their surgery.

Steriwave is already in use at a number of hospitals across Canada, including Vancouver General Hospital and The Ottawa Hospital, and has demonstrated significant improvement in post-surgical outcomes including lower rates of infection, reduced patient length of stay, fewer readmissions, and lower rates of antibiotic prescribing.[i],[ii],[iii]

Dr Stuart Bond, Consultant antimicrobial pharmacist & Director of Innovation at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust commented: “We are very pleased to be the first NHS Trust in the UK to pilot this exciting, non-antibiotic method of preventing infections after surgery. Although infections after hip and knee surgeries are rare, we know that they lengthen patients’ stay in hospital, complicate the recovery process, and cause significant pain and suffering. We look forward to sharing the results of the Steriwave pilot in due course.”

Nasal decolonization is recommended by NICE to eliminate pathogens in a patient’s nasal cavities, like MRSA, which are major causes of SSIs.[iv] A patient with a surgical site infection will, on average, spend 7 to 11 days more in hospital, significantly increasing costs and lengthening patients’ recovery.[v] Nasal mupirocin, an antibiotic, is usually used for nasal decolonization, however, there are serious concerns about its antimicrobial resistance rates which have been reported as high as 81%.[vi]

Nasal photodisinfection is a non-antibiotic method for nasal decolonization that uses a proprietary light-activated agent to destroy pathogens. First, the agent is applied to each nostril using a nasal swab, then the area is illuminated with a specific wavelength of light. The light activates the photodynamic agent, causing an oxidative burst that destroys pathogens. In this single, 5-minute treatment, Steriwave eliminates infection-causing bacteria, viruses and fungi in the nose.[vii]

[i] Banaszek D, Inglis T, Tamir Ailon T, Charest-Morin R, Dea N, Fisher C, Kwon B, Paquette S, Street J. The efficacy and cost-effectiveness of photodynamic therapy in prevention of surgical site infection. The Spine Journal, Volume 19, Issue 9, Supplement, 2019, Page S138.

[ii] https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/OBI/ottawa-hospital-presents-steriwave-study-results/15860312

[iii] https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/OBI/steriwave-tm-cuts-ssi-risk-by-47-at-major-hospital/15679064

[iv] https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng125/chapter/recommendations

[v] Seidelman JL, Mantyh CR, Anderson DJ. Surgical Site Infection Prevention: A Review. JAMA. 2023;329(3):244–252. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.24075

[vi] Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Volume 70, Issue 10, October 2015, Pages 2681–2692, https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkv169

[vii] Liu Z, Norman G, Iheozor-Ejiofor Z, Wong JK, Crosbie EJ, Wilson P. Nasal decontamination for the prevention of surgical site infection in Staphylococcus aureus carriers. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 May 18;5(5):CD012462. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD201601