Survey Highlights Missed Opportunities to Reduce Hospital Acquired Infections

LONDON, November 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Small changes can have a big impact, according to UK healthcare professionals

Two in three healthcare professionals believe that there is still a war against infection in UK hospitals, with catheter-related blood stream infections (CRBSI) considered a major issue by three quarters (74%) of professionals, according to a survey of UK nurses and anaesthetists.

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The survey comes after NICE reported that 300,000 patients per year contract healthcare acquired infections, with CRBSI's accounting for nearly 1 in five infections.^[1] CRBSIs are serious, potentially life-threatening infections that cost the average UK hospital between £4,000 and £10,000 each episode.^[2] Of the 80% of respondents who are aware of CRBSIs, 73% believe them to be preventable. Over two thirds of all nurses and anaesthetists say that simple interventions to prevent CRBSIs would lead to significant NHS savings.

Despite this, over a third of respondents in the survey were either unaware of or knew nothing about CRBSIs and only 15% were aware that infection is mostly caused by the patient's own skin. Awareness was particularly low among nurses, with nearly one in five having no awareness of CRBSIs and only 8% correctly citing the patient's own skin as the major cause.

"There is a clear need for better awareness and understanding of CRBSIs and how to prevent them," said Prof Robert Masterton, Director of the Institute of Healthcare Associated Infection, University of the West of Scotland, "Nurses, in particular, have a key role to play at the frontline of care in preventing the spread of infection."

The survey was commissioned by Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson company that has developed BIOPATCH^®, an innovative antimicrobial dressing that reduces CRBSIs by up to 69%^[3]. BIOPATCH^® was recently recognised by the NHS Catalogue of Potential Innovations^[4] as an innovation that has the potential to make a real difference by transforming both quality and value across the NHS.

The survey found that only 4 out of 10 anaesthetists and just 2 out of 10 nurses had used BIOPATCH^® or something like it. Among those that know BIOPATCH^® well, however, 90% percent believed CRBSIs to be completely preventable.

"This represents a lost opportunity as some hospitals are already using BIOPATCH^® as part of their bundle of care and saving hundreds of thousands of pounds, simply by reducing CRBSI rates," said Andrew Cleworth, Business Manager BIOPATCH UK, Ireland, Nordics.

BIOPATCH^® works by gradually releasing Chlorhexidine Gluconate (CHG) from a foam matrix over a seven-day period. This helps to reduce local infections, CRBSIs, and skin colonisation of microorganisms commonly related to CRBSI, in patients with central venous or arterial catheters.^[5] Without the use of BIOPATCH^®, resident bacteria quickly re-colonise on the skin's surface following antiseptic application.^[5]

Notes to Editors

About the survey

The online survey interviewed 264 nurses and anaesthetists, both from private and NHS hospitals, across a range of different departments in July and August 2013.

The online survey was conducted by an independent market research company.

About BIOPATCH^®

Ethicon^® BIOPATCH^® Products are focused on providing products for use in the area of infection prevention. BIOPATCH^® Protective Disk with CHG is the only device of its kind with an FDA cleared indication to reduce local infections, catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI), and skin colonisation of microorganisms commonly related to CRBSI, in patients with central venous or arterial catheters^[2]. http://www.ethicon360.com/products/biopatch-protective-disk-chg

Safety Information

Do not use BIOPATCH^® on premature infants. Use of this product on premature infants has resulted in hypersensitivity reactions and necrosis of the skin.

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1. NHS: Innovation Health and Wealth. Catalogue of Potential Innovations. 2013; 1-65

2. Davies, S. Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer, Volume Two, Infections & The Rise of Antimicrobial Resistance, 2011.12-13.

3. Timsit JF, et al. Chlorhexidine-impregnated sponges and less frequent dressing changes for prevention of catheter-related infections in critically ill adults: a randomised controlled trial. JAMA 2009; 301 (12):1231-1241.

4. NHS: Innovation Health and Wealth. Catalogue of Potential Innovations. 2013; 1-65.

5. BIOPATCH® Antimicrobial Dressing with Chlorhexidine Gluconate. Instructions for use. Johnson and Johnson Wound Management.

For further information, please contact Helen Khan: Helen.Khan@edelman.com, +44-203-047-2430.

SOURCE ETHICON(TM) Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company