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September 23, 2024
TECH AND DISEASE TRENDS
Impact Story
Rapid MRSA Screening of Ortho Trauma Patients Improves Experience
Torbay Hospital in Torquay, U.K., faced the challenge of relieving pressure on the Accident and Emergency (A&E) deparment. Some trauma patients were transferred to the elective surgery ward, which often had free beds. To do so safely, the newly admitted patients had to be screened for MRSA, which was a long process, and the four-hour A&E admission target was often missed.
To meet admission targets, improvements in turnaround times were required since, at that point, MRSA screening was performed in the laboratory using a culture-based technique, which could take up to 48 hours to obtain results.
The hospital decided to introduce point-of-care MRSA testing, enabling trauma patients from A&E to use empty beds in the elective surgery ward without putting the other patients at risk of postoperative infections. Implementing point-of-care screening decreased the turnaround times for results from 48 hours to less than 1 hour, helping the hospital meet the 4-hour A&E admission target. This improved patient flow so that resources could be used more efficiently, saving wards time and money by preventing delays in treatment.
Fast point-of-care testing with the GeneXpert® system and Xpert® MRSA NxG is now used at Torbay Hospital to screen patients admitted via A&E, producing results in an hour or less. This allows the safe use of elective beds for trauma patients, helping to avoid MRSA outbreaks and the resulting cancellation of planned surgeries.
"Fast screening of trauma on arrival enables admission directly to the elective ward if MRSA negative, maximising bed occupancy and minimising the cancellation of elective surgeries,” according to Gillian Hewlett, Microbiology Laboratory Manager and Head Biomedical Scientist, and Sue Evans, Matron, Orthopaedic Ward.
“It also speeds up progression along the care pathway, improving the patient experience, and has driven down the associated breaches of the 52-week RTT* target."
The improved patient flow ensures that hospital resources, such as surgeons and theatre slots, are used effectively to treat trauma patients quickly, avoiding any delay in treatment that could extend hospital stays.
Learn more about the GeneXpert® system and Xpert® MRSA NxG and what it can do to reduce screening TAT times and improve patient flow at your hospital.
Footnotes:
CE-IVD. In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device. May not be available in all countries.
Projections and Realized Results are specific to the institution where they were obtained and may not reflect the results achievable at other institutions
*RTT - Referral to Treatment
Point-of-care testing indicates decentralized testing by trained users.
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