Surgical site infections for patients undergoing total knee and total hip replacements at Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala., dropped to zero after the hospital implemented quality improvement initiatives and pulsed xenon ultraviolet room disinfections, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
To lower total joint SSIs, the hospital took a two-pronged approach: quality improvement and no-touch environment disinfection. Some examples of quality improvement the hospital took on include:
- Discontinuing catheters in postanesthesia care unit
- Getting more orthopedics nurses to pass orthopedics certification
- Moving from no safety huddles to one safety huddle per shift every day
- Assigning patients a coach
- Beginning ambulation on day-of surgery
In addition to those changes, the hospital began using pulsed xenon UV light to disinfect rooms. According to the study, the hospital saw a 65.3 percent reduction in bacterial load when using the PX-UV device compared to standard terminal cleaning.
Before full implementation of both prongs of the bundle, the hospital had 4 SSIs reported from 200 total hip procedures, and three SSIs from 191 total knee procedures. After the bundle was fully implemented, no SSIs were reported from 191 total hip procedures or from 394 total knee procedures.
Additionally, the hospital reported a savings of $290,990 over 12 months.