In-use contamination of propofol. A clinical study

Fry

2017

Anaesth Intensive Care

In preparation for a case, an anaesthetist opened a 20 ml glass vial of propofol and aspirated the propofol into a syringe via a blunt drawing-up needle. Increased resistance was felt with aspiration. On inspection, a shard of glass was found at the tip of the drawing-up needle. The shard was presumed to be from the propofol ampoule, and to have fallen into the solution upon snapping open its glass tip. This illustrative case raises the issue of contamination of drugs by particles introduced during the drawing-up process. It also highlights the possibility that during the drawing-up process, intravenous drugs may become contaminated not just with particles, but with microorganisms on the surface of the particles. In this article, we discuss relevant recent research of the implications of this type of drug contamination. We draw attention to the need for meticulous care in drawing up and administering intravenous drugs during anaesthesia, particularly propofol.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Are We Injecting with Our Drugs?

Merry

Fry

2017

Anaesth Intensive Care

“…This is particularly problematic because lipid emulsions provide a rich source of nutrients for bacterial growth. An association between propofol and postoperative infections began to be reported in the early 1990's [29][30][31][32][33]. In response, the then manufacturer provided an extensive educational programme for anaesthesia personnel and changed the product information to include explicit handling instructions.…”

Section: Trial Registrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of implementing an aseptic practice bundle for anaesthetists to reduce postoperative infections. Protocol for a stepped wedge, cluster randomised, multi-site trial. The Anaesthetists Be Cleaner (ABC) Study.

Merry¹,

Bissett

et al. 2019

Preprint

Background Postoperative infection is a serious problem in New Zealand, and internationally with considerable human and financial costs. Also, in New Zealand, certain factors that contribute to postoperative infection are more common in Māori and Pacific populations. To date, most efforts to reduce postoperative infection have focused on surgical aspects of care and on antibiotic prophylaxis, but recent research shows that anaesthesia providers may also have an impact on infection transmission. These providers sometimes exhibit imperfect hand hygiene and frequently transfer the blood or saliva of their patients to their work environment. In addition, intravenous medications may become contaminated while being drawn up and administered to patients. Working with relevant practitioners and other experts, we have developed an evidence-informed bundle to improve key aseptic practices by anaesthetists with the aim of reducing postoperative infection. The key elements of the bundle are the filtering of compatible drugs, context-relevant hand hygiene practices, and enhanced maintenance of clean work surfaces. Methods We will seek support for implementation of the bundle from senior anaesthesia and hospital leadership and departmental “champions”. Anaesthetic teams and recovery room staff will be educated about the bundle and its potential benefits through presentations, written material, and exemplar videos. We will implement the bundle in operating rooms where hip or knee arthroplasty or cardiac surgery procedures are undertaken in a five-site, stepped wedge, cluster randomised, quality improvement design. We will compare outcomes between approximately 5,000 cases before and 5,000 cases after implementation of our bundle. Outcome data will be collected from existing national and hospital databases. Our primary outcome will be days alive and out of hospital to 90 days, which is expected to reflect all serious postoperative infections. Our secondary outcome will be the rate of surgical site infection. Aseptic practice will be observed in sampled cases in each cluster before and after implementation of the bundle. Discussion If effective, our bundle may offer a practical clinical intervention to reduce postoperative infection and its associated substantial human and financial costs. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Network Registry: ACTRN12618000407291

“…This is particularly problematic, because lipid emulsions provide a rich source of nutrients for bacterial growth. An association between propofol and postoperative infections began to be reported in the early 1990s [29–33]. In response, the then manufacturer provided an extensive educational programme for anaesthesia personnel and changed the product information to include explicit handling instructions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of implementing an aseptic practice bundle for anaesthetists to reduce postoperative infections, the Anaesthetists Be Cleaner (ABC) study: protocol for a stepped wedge, cluster randomised, multi-site trial

Merry

Bissett

et al. 2019

Trials

Background Postoperative infection is a serious problem in New Zealand and internationally with considerable human and financial costs. Also, in New Zealand, certain factors that contribute to postoperative infection are more common in Māori and Pacific populations. To date, most efforts to reduce postoperative infection have focussed on surgical aspects of care and on antibiotic prophylaxis, but recent research shows that anaesthesia providers may also have an impact on infection transmission. These providers sometimes exhibit imperfect hand hygiene and frequently transfer the blood or saliva of their patients to their work environment. In addition, intravenous medications may become contaminated whilst being drawn up and administered to patients. Working with relevant practitioners and other experts, we have developed an evidence-informed bundle to improve key aseptic practices by anaesthetists with the aim of reducing postoperative infection. The key elements of the bundle are the filtering of compatible drugs, context-relevant hand hygiene practices and enhanced maintenance of clean work surfaces. Methods We will seek support for implementation of the bundle from senior anaesthesia and hospital leadership and departmental “champions”. Anaesthetic teams and recovery room staff will be educated about the bundle and its potential benefits through presentations, written material and illustrative videos. We will implement the bundle in operating rooms where hip or knee arthroplasty or cardiac surgery procedures are undertaken in a five-site, stepped wedge, cluster randomised, quality improvement design. We will compare outcomes between approximately 5000 cases before and 5000 cases after implementation of our bundle. Outcome data will be collected from existing national and hospital databases. Our primary outcome will be days alive and out of hospital to 90 days, which is expected to reflect all serious postoperative infections. Our secondary outcome will be the rate of surgical site infection. Aseptic practice will be observed in sampled cases in each cluster before and after implementation of the bundle. Discussion If effective, our bundle may offer a practical clinical intervention to reduce postoperative infection and its associated substantial human and financial costs. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12618000407291 . Registered on 21 March 2018. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-019-3402-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.