At the 17th International Photodynamic Association World Congress in Boston, Massachusetts, Dr. Elizabeth Bryce, Dr. Diane Roscoe and Dr. Titus Wong of Vancouver Coastal Health (British Columbia, Canada) were the recipients of the 2019 IPA Award For The Significant Advancement Of Photodynamic Therapy for being the first hospital group to adopt photodynamic therapy (PDT) for nasal decolonization of pre-surgical patients.
With more than 35,000 patients treated, the Canadian doctors were honoured for their work validating an important new application of antimicrobial PDT that demonstrated both significant clinical benefits to patients and significant cost reductions for healthcare systems. Through the implementation of universal antimicrobial PDT as standard of care in its Quality Improvement Program at Vancouver General and UBC Hospitals, the Vancouver Coastal Health decolonization team has demonstrated significant and sustained reductions in overall surgical site infection rates without generating resistance typically associated with topical antibiotic use. Initial findings from the Vancouver nasal decolonization PDT deployment were published in the Journal of Hospital Infection (Bryce et al, Volume 88, Issue 2, October 2014, Pages 89-95). At the 2019 Canadian Spine Society Annual Science Conference, the Vancouver Coastal Health Spine Group presented spine patient data from the 2009-2017 period which established a 78% reduction in the rate of surgical site infections in spine surgery patients. They also reported a cost savings of $4.24 million per annum resulting from the adoption of nasal PDT to standard decolonization protocols.
Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Dr. Elizabeth Bryce, who led the multi-disciplinary team, is a recognized leader in Canadian infection control and patient safety research. Until recently, Dr. Bryce was the Regional Medical Director for Infection Control at Vancouver Coastal Health Acute, dually qualified in Medical Microbiology and Internal Medicine. Dr. Bryce is a Co-Chair of the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program as well as a Co-Chair for the Provincial Infection Control Network of British Columbia.
Dr. Diane Roscoe, until last year, was the Head of Microbiology and Infection Prevention and Control at Vancouver General Hospital. Currently, Dr. Roscoe is serving as Attending Physician, Division of Microbiology and Virology, Department of Pathology, Sidra Medicine, a hospital providing tertiary healthcare services to women and children in Doha, Qatar.
Dr. Titus Wong, the new Regional Medical Director for Infection Control at Vancouver Coastal Health, is a Clinical Assistant Professor at University of British Columbia (UBC). He is the Medical Lead of Infection Prevention and Control for Vancouver Coastal Health and currently practises as a medical microbiologist and infection control physician.
IPA World Congress
The Boston World Congress was the 17th conference held by the International Photodynamic Association, marking 34 years of this global meeting. The IPA World Congresses, held every two years, are the leading PDT meetings bringing together members of the global photodynamic community to advance scientific and clinical research relating to photodiagnosis and photodynamic therapies. The Boston World Congress was led by Congress Chair and IPA President Dr. Tayyaba Hasan, Professor of Dermatology at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Harvard Medical School (HMS) and a Professor of Health Sciences and Technology (Harvard-MIT) and had record attendance with representatives from 33 countries. The 2021 IPA World Congress will be hosted in Moscow, Russia and the 2023 IPA World Congress will be held in Shanghai, China.
About Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a combination therapy involving light activated photosensitizers to diagnose and treat various types and stages of cancers and pre-cancers, macular degeneration and multidrug-resistant infections involving bacteria, viruses and fungi. First developed in the 1980s, PDT has demonstrated superior patient outcomes with considerable cost savings. Over the past 30 years, millions of patients globally have been successfully treated with PDT.
About the International Photodynamic Association
The International Photodynamic Association (IPA) was founded in 1986 to support and endorse the scientific advancement and clinical development of photodynamic therapy and photodiagnosis. With members and associates from over 30 countries, the IPA represents a truly global community consisting of prominent international scientists, clinicians and translational researchers, healthcare professionals and students across academic, hospital, government and private sector organizations. The IPA promotes the study of diagnosis and treatment using light-activated photosensitizers and disseminates scientific information to its members, the research community, and to the community at large. The IPA organizes a biennial World Congress around the world, providing members and non-members a unique opportunity to share and learn more about global developments relating specifically to photodynamic therapy and photodiagnosis.
For further information: ipasecretary@internationalphotodynamic.com