Authors: (including presenting author): :
Lee S(1), Wong WL(1), Leung YT(1), Tsui YC (1), Tang LM (1)
Affiliation: :
(1)Physiotherapy Department, Prince of Wales Hospital
Keyword 1: :
Walking aid bank
Keyword 2: :
Infection control
Introduction: :
In 2025, there were four outbreaks of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) infection in orthopaedic wards. Routine screening and isolation of shared equipment including walking aids were compulsory to minimize the risk of cross-contamination during MDRO outbreaks. In addition to standard cleaning procedures, the equipment used by confirmed or suspected MDRO patients must undergo a comprehensive three-day disinfection process while being quarantined. Traditionally, only one set of walking aids was distributed in each orthopaedic ward, which was cleaned after individual use. For orthopedic wards undergoing MDRO screening, this may result in an exponential increase of the number of walking aid requirement and manpower for cleaning when comparing with the standard disinfection procedure. A new Walking Aid Bank (WAB) system was established to optimize resource allocation and minimise the risk of MDRO transmission complying to current infection control guideline.
Objectives: :
To investigate if the new WAB system may reduce the walking aids and the total manpower required for the disinfection process comparing with the traditional system during a MRDO outbreak period.
Methodology: :
Since May 2025, WAB was established by assigning individual walking aid to each confirmed and suspected patient, labelled with patient’s name for identification and kept at the patient's bedside for repeated use. As MDRO screening result required three days to be released, the walking aids of the negative screening cases can be reused after standard cleansing procedure on the third day of screening. For the confirmed MDRO infection cases, the assigned walking aids were required to undergo the three-day disinfection process only once upon patients’ discharge. The total resources used were compared between the WAB system and the traditional system during one MRDO outbreak period in an orthopaedic ward.
Result & Outcome: :
During the outbreak period (April-May, 2025), there were 16 confirmed cases and 37 suspected cases. Among these, 9 confirmed cases and 14 suspected cases required walking aids for mobility assessment or training. On average, the screening period for suspected cases was three days. Among the suspected cases requiring walking aids, 7 were subsequently confirmed positive and 7 were negative. The new WAB system required 23 walking aids, whereas the traditional system required 51, representing a 55% of reduction. The disinfection process decreased from 237 to 48 executions, reflecting an 80% reduction. The WAB system is recommended as it minimises the risk of MRO transmission via walking aids and optimises resource utilization complying to current infection control guideline. Reference: HA Working Group for Standardizing Cleaning Practices (Oct 2025). Guideline on Environmental Decontamination in Clinical Areas.
