INFECTION PREVENTION
Mepilex Border Flex dressing, from
optimal healing environment. The unique Flex technology with Y-cuts was designed to stay on and conform even to difficult anatomy.”
One of the worst parts of changing dressings is pain and damage to an already sensitive, traumatized area of skin. A dressing that reduces pain upon removal reduces such trauma. Venner said that Mölnlycke’s Mepilex Border Flex incorporates Mölnlycke’s propri- etary Safetac technology, introduced thirty years ago, to address the pain patients suffer at dressing changes and trauma caused to a wound by dressing adhesives. “Three billion dressings later [it] is supported by 531 pieces of evidence.”
Venner related Mölnlycke’s philos-
ophy: “At the heart of everything we do at Mölnlycke is the understanding that the right dressing leads to better outcomes for patients — and a better bottom line for providers. Facilities that think they are achieving savings with a lower-cost dressing may actu- ally be spending considerably more due to frequent dressing changes.” Relating the experience of a case at a 250-bed Denver community hospital, Venner said, “Mepilex Border Flex dress- ings reduced dressing utilization by 78 percent, with a cost reduction of 74.2 percent, or an average of $68 per patient in dressing costs, when compared with their formulary dressing.1
Wear time was
three days compared to less than one day with the other dressing.”1
Venner explained that standardizing on Mölnlycke dressings can offer substan- tial savings to facilities. He provided an example: “One of the largest rural non- government IDNs in the country reported increased healing rates, savings of 48 percent, and better-quality wound care by standardizing to Mölnlycke’s Advanced Wound Care products.”
Mölnlycke Health Care
DuraDerm, from Prevent-Plus
Antimicrobial dressings Perhaps one of the greatest achieve- ments in wound care, in recent history, is the advent of antimicrobial-impreg- nated dressings, yet another weapon in the war against hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). They come in several options such as silver, chlorhexidine gluconate, and, in the case of Prevent- Plus’s solution, a microbicidal liquid polymer that kills and eliminates drug-resistant bacteria, viruses, and fungi on contact. eff lbl, hief Technology fficer of Prevent-Plus, explained how DuraDerm works. “As it dries, its patented polymer creates an elastomeric film that seals over the wound, protecting against water, germs, and dirt. The lowered pH of the sealed wound creates an environment that promotes wound healing.” Elbl claims, “No other known cidal agent protects against superbugs while also protecting wounds from exter- nal contamination and promot- ing healing. DuraDerm’s triple action prevents infection and promotes healing, which greatly reduces the risk of additional interventions, saving time, money, and healthcare resources. “DuraDerm has effec- tively been tested to kill, on contact, several super- bugs, such as methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vanco- mycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE),” stated Elbl. “Most recently, an independent laboratory study showed
that uraerm is one of the first products on the market that kills 99.99 percent of the Candida auris fungus on contact. C. auris presents a serious global health threat because the fungus is often multidrug-resistant, dif- ficult to identify with standard lab tests, and has caused recent outbreaks in healthcare settings.”
Citing the cost of surgical- wound infections (SSIs), one of the most com- mon types of HAIs, Elbl continued, “They occur an estimated 160,000 to 300,000 times per year and account for more than twenty percent of all HAIs. These infections can
24 September 2019 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
hpnonline.com
be a major source of readmissions and af- fect overall hospital performance. Overall, SSIs cost the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $3.5 to $10 billion annually. The finding that up to percent of s are preventable has made SSI a primary target of institutions’ quality-control measures and a key ‘Pay-for-Performance’ metric. Clinicians can spur hospital executives and administrators to look at investing in new interventions or technology by working collaboratively to provide a cost-benefit analysis.” Cura Surgical’s antimicrobial of choice is silver, long recognized for its inherent antimicrobial properties. Raul Brizuela, Founder, President, and CEO of Cura Sur- gical, described the virtues of their dress- ing. “Silverlon Antimicrobial Dressing is an evidence-based product used across multiple specialties to help healthcare professionals protect patients from HAIs. Silverlon contains more metallic silver than any other dressing on the market and utilizes unique technology to deliver silver ions to the wound. Silverlon provides a broad-spectrum antimicrobial effect that rapidly kills microorganisms, eradicating pathogens such as MRSA and Pseudomonas in as little as four hours.” ighlighting the necessity of scientific validation, Brizuela noted that multiple studies have been published across dif- ferent surgical specialties on Silverlon Antimicrobial Dressing. “A study out of the University of South Florida2
assessed a
total of 61,000 central-line days. The facility sought to improve infection rates and jus- tify an organizational change to Silverlon and changed their bundle for central-line maintenance to include Silverlon as the standard of care. After a change in proto- col, they realized a drop in infections from 1.64/1,000 central -line days to 0.87/1,000 central-line days. This number has stayed steady for six-plus years.”
Brizuela contin- ued, “In addition to cost savings to the hospi- tal, and the
Silverlon Antimicrobial Dressings, from Cura Surgical
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