Marcia Ryder on biofilm

Marcia Ryder PhD, MS, RN began her session at the 35th INS conference in Phoenix, Arizona with a stark reminder. She told the assemble audience that during her one hour presentation something in the region of 30 people will die in the US of a healthcare associated infection (HCAI)!

The audience are then informed of another stark reality associated with IV’s and the treatment of infection. Bacteria organise themselves into a cooperative community. This bacterial community is held together with biofilm.

Marcia held the attention of her audience for the full hour. The presentation included many informative messages, the two messages that I would like to share is that ‘…all HCAI’s are are a biofilm disease’ and ‘…health care professionals need to re-think the basic things that we do’. Finally, Marcia reminded us that 100 trillion bacteria reside on our skin!

To read more about Marcia’s work on biofilm we recommend that you read the following article… Ryder M.A. (2005) Catheter-related infections: It’s all about biofilm. Topics in Advanced Practice Nursing eJournal. 5(3), posted 18/08/2005.

We would like to thank Smith & Nephew Healthcare Ltd for their support which has allowed IVTEAM to attend this grand event.