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Papworth Hospital pilots Steriwave to prevent surgical site infections
The Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, one of the world’s foremost cardiothoracic centres, is launching a pilot programme with Ondine’s Steriwave nasal photodisinfection therapy. This therapy is used to decolonise the nose
prior to surgery to reduce surgical site infections. Working in collaboration with Ondine’s distribution partner, Mölnlycke Health Care, a global provider of medical solutions, this strategic initiative aims to enhance patient safety and surgical outcomes by addressing the critical challenge of surgical site infections (SSIs) amid rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Royal Papworth Hospital’s decision to pilot Steriwave places it among a growing list of
internationally recognised cardiac centres that are adopting universal pre-surgical nasal photodisinfection protocols. Canada’s Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, an early adopter, found a 32% reduction in cardiac SSIs over mupirocin nasal decolonisation protocols. The Royal Papworth pilot will integrate Steriwave
into cardiac surgical care pathways, as part of a broader strategy to reduce patient microbial burden (specifically in the nose), prior to surgery to help prevent infections. The nose is a known reservoir for multidrug resistant bacteria, viruses and fungi that are easily transmitted and have been identified as a major source of post-surgical infections. Steriwave is a rapid, non-antibiotic nasal decolonisation technology that does not induce resistance. It has been deployed in infection prevention protocols at hospitals internationally to address the global rise in multidrug resistant infection. In vitro studies presented at ICPIC 2022 and 2023 demonstrated 99.99% kill rates against key pathogens associated with surgical site infections, including extensively drug- resistant (XDR) gram-negative bacteria and ESKAPE organisms such as MRSA, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ICPIC, 2022 and 2023) and 99.9% for Candidozyma auris, the deadly fungus of growing concern to all hospitals.
Patients with one of the most common blood cancers are now living twice as long
People diagnosed with multiple myeloma – one of the most common forms of blood cancer – are now living nearly twice as long on average as they were in 2005, according to a new study. The research, led by the University of York and
funded by Cancer Research UK and Blood Cancer UK, found that median survival for people with myeloma rose from 2.4 years in 2005 to 4.5 years in 2019. The findings, published in Haematologica, are based on data from more than 3,700 UK patients in England. Historically, myeloma has had low survival
compared to many cancer types, partly due to limited options for treatment. Experts believe recent progress is largely due to the adoption of new innovations - such as bortezomib, a drug which is more targeted and has less side-effects than chemotherapy. Patients aged 80 and over have seen the biggest gains in net survival, with the proportion of people in this age group surviving their disease for five
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years or more increasing by five-fold since 2005. This is partly due to their increased participation in clinical trials, and the availability of kinder treatments that more frail patients can tolerate. According to Blood Cancer UK, Myeloma affects
around 6,300 people in the UK every year, making up around 2% of all cancer cases. Currently there is no cure, but treatment can help to manage symptoms and extend life. Professor Alexandra Smith, Professor of Cancer
Epidemiology at the University of York and lead author of the study, said: “Thanks to research, someone diagnosed with myeloma now has far better prospects than they would have two decades ago. New treatments are kinder, less toxic, and more effective, allowing every patient - including the most vulnerable – to benefit. “But we can’t stop here. Survival for myeloma
remains devastatingly low - which is why continued research into new ways to treat the disease, and diagnose it sooner, is so vital.”
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Oral microbes linked to increased risk of pancreatic cancer
Twenty-seven species of bacteria and fungi among the hundreds that live in people’s mouths have been collectively tied to a 3.5 times greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer, a study led by NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center shows. Experts have long observed that those with poor oral health are more vulnerable to pancreatic cancer than those with healthier mouths. More recently, scientists have uncovered a mechanism that could help explain this connection, finding that bacteria can travel through swallowed saliva into the pancreas, an organ that helps with digestion. However, precisely which species may contribute to the condition had until now remained unclear. A new study, recently published online by JAMA Oncology assessed the genetic makeup of microbes collected from the saliva of 122,000 healthy men and women. “Our findings provide new insight into the
relationship between the oral microbiome and pancreatic cancer,” said study lead author Yixuan Meng PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. The oral microbiome, the diverse community
of bacteria and fungi that inhabit the mouth, is increasingly being studied for its potential role in human health. Last year, the same team of scientists uncovered a link between certain oral bacteria and a heightened risk of developing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, a group of cancers that arise in the mouth and throat. The researchers had also conducted a small study in 2016 that tied microbes living in the mouth to pancreatic cancer but could not identify precise bacterial species. Their latest report is the largest and most detailed analysis of its kind to date, says Meng. It is also the first to show that oral fungi - namely a type of yeast called Candida that naturally lives on the skin and throughout the body - may play a role in pancreatic cancer. The researchers also identified these oral Candida species in patients’ pancreatic tumours. By assessing the makeup of each participant’s
oral microbiome, the scientists for the first time developed a tool that could estimate their cancer risk. View the paper at: https://tinyurl. com/3p26wyz8
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