Daniel J.G. Thirion receives prix Innovation 2019 from L’Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec

“Daniel Thirion is recognized as a leader in the field of antibiotic stewardship, not just in Québec but in all of Canada,” says Mr. Bertrand Bolduc, president of l’Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec.

Combined with interventions in infection control, Thirion’s efforts resulted in a four to five-time reduction of rates of surgical site infections – which occur at the site of a surgical incision – and decreasing hospital stays, treatment costs, and moreover, the number of deaths related to infection.

Collaboration is key

These results are the fruits of impressive collaborations led by Thirion, who recruited pharmacy residents to help compile and analyze infield data of nine specialty surgeries. Thirion was approached by Dr. Charles Frenette, director of Infection prevention and control at the MUHC, to help establish and enforce new antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery protocols. This new strategy of infection prevention consisted of administering an antibiotic before the surgical incision.

“We very quickly put in motion several practices to successfully lower infection rates in the operation room,” says Thirion. “We wrote a guide that lays out different antibiotic choices that can be used to prevent infections and we produced pre-printed order forms. In the OR, we ensured nurses documented details about antibiotic usage – name and dosage, for instance – at the moment they were administered.”

Less is more

Antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery is an approach that, itself alone, reduces surgical site infection rates by 50 percent.