The University of Birmingham is leading a £10 million surgical trial to improve post-surgery outcomes. The trial will recruit 26,000 patients.
The largest surgical trial ever funded in the UK is about to launch. It will unite 26,000 patients across 100 sites to test interventions that could enhance the safety of surgeries worldwide.
The ROSSINI-Platform trial, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is a multi-arm, multi-stage study led by Professor Thomas Pinkney and the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit.
It seeks to identify the most effective methods for reducing surgical site infections (SSIs), a major complication impacting as many as one in four surgical patients annually.
SSIs are the most prevalent postoperative complication, increasing patient suffering and straining healthcare systems. In the UK alone, these infections incur at least £700 million in costs yearly. They lead to more extended hospital stays, readmissions, and delayed recoveries.
Professor Thomas Pinkney, Chief Investigator of the ROSSINI-Platform trial, said: ‘An adult will have an average of four operations in their lifetime. Up to a quarter of these may result in a surgical site infection, which can seriously impact recovery.
Infections pose different challenges depending on the surgery. A mother recovering from a C-section may struggle to bond with her newborn, while an amputation patient could lose the chance to be fitted for a prosthetic, forcing them to rely on a wheelchair.’
With surgical backlogs at an all-time high, evidence-based approaches to reducing preventable complications are more critical than ever.
The ROSSINI-Platform trial will evaluate 18 interventions to reduce infection risks, including:
• Advanced wound-cleaning solutions
• Special post-surgical dressings
• Optimised antibiotic application methods
• Instrument and glove changes at key moments
• Hair removal techniques around surgical sites.
These interventions will be tested across various surgical specialties, including cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, caesarean sections, and amputations, to determine the most effective methods for each type of procedure.
Sue Blackwell, 49, from Liverpool, has undergone 13 surgeries due to inflammatory bowel disease. While she has experienced SSIs before, one severe infection left her housebound for six months, requiring daily nurse visits and additional surgeries. It took 11 years for her wound to heal fully.
Now pursuing a PhD at the University of Birmingham, Sue is a Patient and Public Involvement representative on the trial.
She said: ‘People assume someone must be at fault when they get an SSI, but these infections are very common, and we still don’t fully understand how to prevent them. This trial will compare safe, existing interventions in a smart way to find the best solutions.’
Surgical site infections are a worldwide healthcare challenge. The findings of this trial could help hospitals across the globe implement the most effective infection prevention strategies, leading to:
• Faster recoveries for patients
• Shorter hospital stays, freeing up resources
• Fewer post-surgical complications, potentially saving lives.
With 26,000 participants, this trial marks a significant step toward reducing surgical infections worldwide and provides hope for enhanced post-operative care across global healthcare systems.
You can watch a video explaining the trial here.
