Royal Columbian Hospital’s AIM research team has delivered the first ICU evidence that a five‑minute nasal photodisinfection treatment can materially lower pneumonia rates. The peer‑reviewed SMURF feasibility pilot, announced by Ondine Biomedical (AIM:OBI), recorded a 39.5% drop in pneumonia (14.9 to 9.0 per 1,000 ICU patient‑days) after deploying Steriwave in critically ill patients.
The study was not powered to prove statistical significance on clinical pneumonia outcomes, but it did show a statistically significant reduction in early cumulative nasal pathogen burden (p<0.01). Importantly, no intervention‑related adverse events were detected. The pilot marks the first nasal photodisinfection deployment in an ICU setting and supports larger follow‑on trials.
"Every case of pneumonia prevented in ICUs translates to days of ventilation avoided, earlier discharges, and beds freed for the next critically ill patient. The preliminary results from SMURF suggest that a simple, five-minute nasal treatment could make a real difference at scale," Dr. Elizabeth Rohrs, PhD, RRT, RCH principal investigator and RCH Foundation Research Director, said.
The paper highlights photodisinfection’s broad‑spectrum action against multidrug‑resistant organisms — relevant as Gram‑negative bacteria now account for roughly 67% of culture‑positive ICU infections, with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae prominent drivers. The study was partly funded by the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation; investigators plan a multicentre randomised trial as the next step.
