To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Study Shows Acticoat Dressings' Anti-fungal Effectiveness URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/12EA6A.htm Doctor's Guide September 21, 1999
EXETER, NH -- September 21, 1999 -- In the August 1999 issue of the peer-reviewed American Journal of Infection Control, an in vitro study comparing Westaim Biomedical's Acticoat® dressings to conventional antimicrobial products found the Acticoat dressings provided the fastest and broadest-spectrum fungicidal action.
Burn wound patients with fungal infections have a mortality rate of more than 90 percent. The risk of contracting a fungal infection has increased through the 1980s from 2 infections per 1,000 discharged patients to 3.8 today. One reason for this increase may be the opportunity created through successful bacterial management: now that sophisticated anti-bacterial therapies can prevent bacteria from growing, the fungi, (which are not normally controlled by the same therapies that control bacteria), are able to grow uninhibited.
The in vitro study compared Acticoat dressings to three conventional antimicrobial burn wound treatments: silver nitrate, mafenide acetate and silver sulfadiazine. Acticoat dressings had the fastest kill rate, and were effective against more fungal species.
Acticoat dressings create an optimal environment for wound healing by keeping the wound moist and free from microbes such as bacteria and fungi. They also require fewer dressing changes than conventional burn treatments, and therefore reduce the number of times the wound is exposed to airborne pathogens such as fungi.
Layered with nanocrystalline silver, the Acticoat dressings ensure a sustained release of silver, which has long been recognized for its antibacterial and antifungal properties. As silver ions are consumed, additional silver is released to produce a long-lasting, effective antimicrobial barrier against approximately 150 organisms.
Currently used in more than 70 burn centers across North America, Acticoat dressings have been used on more than 1,500 patients in the past year. As well as burns, the dressing can be used on graft and donor sites, chronic wounds (including pressure ulcers, diabetic ulcers, etc.) and surgical wounds. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.