AO In-Hospital for ORP releases new ‘Infection control’ module

Analyzing, questioning, and changing behavior to prevent fracture-related infections is the focus on the new AO In-Hospital for Operating Room Personnel (ORP) “Infection control” module developed by the AO ORP Education Task Force in collaboration with expert contributors from across the AO regions.

Extending the program’s online suite of highly relevant, credible, point-of-care educational events, the “Infection control” module dovetails with and supports AO In-Hospital’s existing “Management of fracture-related infections” module for surgeons.

The new module uses empirical data to raise learners’ awareness of fracture-related infections (FRI) and their treatment. The AO ORP Education Task Force strongly recommends that AO Faculty delivering the module integrate their respective institutions’ guidelines and policies into the ready-made content. Upon completion of the “Infection control” module, participants should be able to:

• Explain the difference between surgical site infections (SSI) and fracture related infections (FRI)
• Describe potential consequences of FRI
• Discuss how to implement best practice to avoid SSI
• Critically review personal behaviour

The module’s content identifies eight areas of responsibility and includes many defined actions, tasks, and subresponsibilities which can be discussed in detail by module organizers as needed. The module offers sufficient space for integration of topics specific to the individual hospital or institution.

More than a year in development, the “Infection control” module was initiated and completed by the AO ORP Education Task Force—comprising Wacharin Srisuk (Thailand), Jeannine Schnider-Kuhn (Switzerland), and Ali Alyami (Saudi Arabia), and Muhammed Ramzan (Pakistan)—with crucial support from authors across the regions. Lead reviewers were Srisuk and Schnider-Kuhn.

To ensure integration of all regions’ needs, twelve authors were invited to contribute; five small subgroups delivered assets to support the module. Contributors included Vanda Abreu (Portugal) Maria Josefa (Majo) Allfiler (Philippines), Saeed Alzahrani (Saudi Arabia), Hya Babag (Philippines), Rashad Baddad (Palestine), Anas Derbashi (United Arab Emirates), Vasiliki Orfanioti (Greece), Diana van der Stelt (Netherlands), Vicky-Anneta Tsoulfaidou (Greece), Steven Tsokuang Wu (Taiwan), task force member Ramzan, and Selda Urfa (Turkey).