Today, foam dressings are available in various forms. Topical wound dressings come in a range of sizes and as sheets, with or without adhesive borders. Foam dressings are available for cavity wounds and are used as a dressing medium in negative pressure wound therapy (V.A.C.® Therapy, KCI; RenasysEZ, Smith & Nephew). In addition, foam is used in pressure-reducing devices such as mattresses and ...

HYPOTHESIS Biological dressings can be effective tools in the management of enteric fistulas, which are the nemesis of exposed viscera. DESIGN Retrospective review of medical records. SETTING University-affiliated level I trauma center. PATIENTS Patients with open abdominal cavities and coexistent intestinal fistulas who were treated between January 1, 1999, and July 1, 2006. INTERVENTI...

Catheters are widely used for vascular access and for the administration of drugs or fluids in critically ill patients. This exposes patients to an infection risk. Tegaderm chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) (developed by 3M)-a transparent securement dressing-covers and protects catheter sites and secures devices to the skin. It comprises a transparent adhesive dressing to act as a barrier against e...

BACKGROUND Wound dressings are essential in the treatment of chronic wounds and should be selected on valid and recent evidence. OBJECTIVE Effectiveness of advanced compared to conventional dressings for chronic wound healing. METHODS Comprehensive literature search, systematic review and meta-analyses of the results of advanced dressing studies on chronic wound treatment. Comprehensiveness...

Healing of leg ulcers constitutes a major clinical problem. Local methods for accelerating the healing process include modern wound dressings, but it is unclear what impact these dressings have on ulcer healing. This study examines the collective evidence on the effectiveness of modern dressings in the treatment of leg ulcers. To this end, a meta-analysis was conducted covering randomized clini...

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY This prospective, open, non-controlled clinical investigation evaluated the performance of a modern post-operative wound dressing versus conventional dressings used on wounds of patients after undergoing hip or knee replacement. METHODS The clinical investigation started with a two-week observation phase of conventional wound dressings, followed by an intervention phase w...

Over the past decade, a variety of advanced silver-based dressings have been developed. There are considerable variations in the structure, composition, and silver content of these new preparations. In the present study, we examined five commercially available silver-based dressings (Acticoat, Aquacel Ag, Contreet Foam, PolyMem Silver, Urgotul SSD). We assessed their cytotoxicity in a monolayer...

About 70% of all people with severe burns die from related infections, despite advances in treatment regimens and the best efforts of nurses and doctors. Although silver-eluting wound dressings are available for addressing this problem, there is growing evidence of the deleterious effects of such dressings in delaying the healing process owing to cellular toxicity. A new concept of antibiotic-e...

BACKGROUND Antimicrobial silver dressings are used beneath graduated compression in the treatment of venous ulceration. There is little information on whether their use is effective. This was a prospective randomized trial and cost-effectiveness analysis of silver-donating versus non-silver low-adherence dressings in the treatment of venous leg ulcers. METHODS Patients were randomized between...