SilvaSorb Site Dressing Reduces Infection Risk

       Medline Industries Inc. (Mundelein, Ill) announces the launch of SilvaSorb® Site, a critical new addition to the company’s line of infection control products. SilvaSorb Site will help protect insertion site areas from dangerous bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and help reduce the chance for infection. The dressing’s unique design and silver antimicrobial technology offer several advantages over other site dressings, including superior protection around the wound site.
       According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nosocomial infections affect more than 2 million patients each year and cost hospitals on average $14,000 per patient to treat. The CDC also notes that more than 250,000 patients annually get insertion site infections.
       The dressing wraps snuggly around catheters, CV lines, feeding tubes, and other medical devices inserted into the skin. The sustained release antimicrobial silver allows the SilvaSorb Site to stay in place for up to 7 days. In addition, the dressing’s thin construction allows it to lie flat against the skin, providing secure, comfortable protection. SilvaSorb Site can absorb more than 5 times its weight and is nontoxic, nonirritating, and nonsensitizing. This dressing is self-regulating and does not require wetting or rewetting to activate. Its nonadherent material provides pain-free removal at dressing changes.
       SilvaSorb Site dressing also incorporates a unique matrix technology, which absorbs excess fluid and delivers a highly effective silver antimicrobial that kills infection-causing germs for up to 7 days.
       Some site dressings contain the potentially harsh antimicrobial chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), which may cause irritation and other hypersensitivity reactions to the skin. For this reason, these products are not indicated for use in pediatric applications and are potentially dangerous when used on children less than 16 years of age. However, the antimicrobial silver used in SilvaSorb Site dressing is nontoxic and nonirritating. It is safe to apply directly over wound areas and can be used in pediatric care.
       Silver has long been known as a potent antimicrobial agent. Silver nitrate and silver sulfadiazine are well known agents commonly used to control bioburden in the wounds of burn patients. Silver is recognized for its antimicrobial properties and low toxicity. The release mechanism used by SilvaSorb provides an effective, nontoxic level of silver to the skin (or wound bed) without causing discoloration or staining of the application site.
       SilvaSorb Site dressings are made from the same antimicrobial silver material as the highly successful SilvaSorb® Silver Advanced Wound Dressings, which have been in wide clinical use for 3 years. These wound care dressings come in a variety of formats, including a unique hydrogel for optimal use in the management of a variety of wound types, such as pressure ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, leg ulcers, skin tears, serious burns, grafted wounds and donor sites, surgical wounds, lacerations, and abrasions.
       Visit http://www.medline.com for more information.