Use of an antimicrobial primary wound layer with routine negative pressure wound therapy

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are largely preventable but are one of the most common healthcare-associated infections and are increasingly becoming a national concern for all clinicians involved in surgical wound care (NICE, 2008). SSIs have a significant negative impact on NHS clinical and financial resources, reducing the quality of life for both the patient and carer, and have increasing associations with morbidity and extended hospital stay (Young, 2010). There are many methods of managing SSIs from a tissue viability perspective, ranging from advanced wound care dressing products for exudate management, antimicrobial therapies for reducing the bacterial burden within the wound bed and mechanical devices, such as negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), for difficult to stabilise, highly exuding large cavities. This article will focus on the small evaluation of an antimicrobial hydrophobic wound-bed lining product in conjunction with routine NPWT used to promote an optimum environment for healing in three patients who presented with complex, nonhealing SSIs.