Antiseptic skin washes to reduce S. aureus cannula infections
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating antibacterial skin washes to reduce Staphylococcus aureus infections associated with peripheral cannulae: a feasibility study.
IRAS ID
233608
Contact name
Emma Boldock
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 1 days
Research summary
This is a preliminary (feasibility) study to find out the number of skin infections that occur in the skin surrounding cannulae. Whilst in hospital, cannulae are commonly used to give medications that cannot be taken or are not suitable to be given, by mouth. The commonest bacterium that causes cannula infections is Staphylococcus aureus. In about one third of people, this bacterium lives harmlessly on the skin without detection. This is called carriage (or colonisation). However, the bacterium can enter through open areas in the skin via a wound or a cannula which may then cause an infection. We hope that by knowing the number of infections that arise associated with cannula, we can introduce new measures to reduce S. aureus infections in the future.
In part 1 of the study, medical inpatients who have cannulae will receive a daily visit from a research nurse to look at the cannula site for signs of infection. If an infection is suspected, a swab will be taken and treatment considered as is done in routine practice. This will allow us to calculate the rate of cannula site infections in Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.
In part 2 of the study, antiseptic washes will be provided to all patients on the selected wards for self-use or to nursing staff to use for the daily washing of patients. By routinely using antiseptic bodywashes, we hope to reduce S. aureus body carriage and the likelihood of the bacteria infecting a wound, the skin around your drip or the blood stream. However, before we formally test the effectiveness of these washes, we need to check that patients and staff find them pleasant and easy to use. This will be done by asking users to complete a short questionnaire to inform our future decisions.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/NW/0567
Date of REC Opinion
5 Oct 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion