Perth researchers have helped discover a way to find hidden bacterial infections lurking in surgical wounds that can often go missed.
A study led by a UWA senior research fellow has found how fluorescence imaging technology — an advanced diagnostic device that allows doctors to see into a wound — can greatly increase the number of infections that can be picked up in post-surgery wounds.
Using the device developed by MolecuLight, a Canadian medical imaging company, Associate Professor Dr Kylie Sandy-Hodgetts from UWA’s School of Biomedical Sciences said the researchers were able to quickly find wounds with high bacterial loads.
Diagnosis delay
A key finding of the analysis of 58 surgical wounds was that more than 75% of surgical wounds which were referred to wound specialists had elevated levels of bacteria, but less than 7% of patients showed any symptoms.
As a result, most of the patients faced delays in getting their infections treated.
Dr Sandy-Hodgetts said the technique held great potential to help patients affected by surgical wounds, because of the ability to quickly and reliably detect high bacterial levels in real-time.
“Early identification and management of high-bacterial burden is critical for the prevention of surgical site infections,” she said.
First-ever study
It’s the first study of its kind to report on the use of the device to detect and diagnose infection in surgical wounds.
The findings, published in International Wound Journal, are part of an initiative by the International Surgical Wound Complications Advisory Panel to study surgical site infections on a global scale.
It is aiming to develop more objective ways to diagnose bacterial infections early on.