Aquacel silver dressing

BACKGROUND: The treatment of burn wounds is still a challenge regarding the management of antiseptic wound conditioning. Especially, in the United States, silver-containing dressings, such as Acticoat and Aquacel are frequently used. Because silver-containing dressings have well-known drawbacks such as an antimicrobial lack against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we sought to develop an alternative dressing method. In previous studies, we could demonstrate the excellent antiseptic properties of acetic acid against common burn unit germs, and in another study, the feasibility and suitability of a Suprathel-acetic acid matrix as an antiseptic dressing...

The surgical management of a giant omphalocele is challenging. Many cannot be closed at birth and must initially be managed nonoperatively with a topical agent to facilitate epithelialization. We report the case of a term, 1-day-old female neonate with a giant omphalocele treated initially with a hydrofiber dressing containing silver (Aquacel Ag; ConvaTec Inc, Skillman, NJ) and then with delayed primary closure.

BACKGROUND: The use of honey as a natural product of Apis spp. for burn treatment has been widely applied for centuries. Tualang honey has been reported to have antibacterial properties against various microorganisms, including those from burn-related diagnoses, and is cheaper and easier to be absorbed by Aquacel dressing. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential antibacterial properties of tualang honey dressing and to determine its effectiveness as a partial thickness burn wound dressing...

Silver sulfadiazine has been used as a topical burn wound treatment for many years. Pain associated with dressing changes is a common problem in burn wounds. Aquacel Ag, a hydrofiber dressing coated with ionic silver has been reported to reduce burn wound infection and promote antimicrobial activity. The purpose of this study was to show the benefits of Aquacel Ag for the treatment of partial thickness burns. This prospective randomized study was conducted in 70 patients who had partial thickness burns less than 15% of total body surface area and were treated at Siriraj outpatient burn clinic during December 2006-February 2008...

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may cause infections during wound dressing. We aimed to compare the antibacterial activities and wound-healing effects of commercially available silver-coated or silver-impregnated wound dressings on MRSA-infected wounds. METHODS: Full-thickness skin defects were made on the back of rats (N=108) and were infected with MRSA. The rats were divided into the following 6 groups according to the dressing used for the wounds: nanocrystalline silver (Acticoat), silver carboxymethylcellulose (Aquacel-Ag), silver sulfadiazine (Medifoam silver), nanocrystalline silver (PolyMem silver), silver sulfadiazine (Ilvadon), and 10% povidone iodide (Betadine)...

Aquacel Ag((R)) (ConvaTec, Princeton, NJ, USA) is a new hydrofiber wound dressing consisting of soft non-woven sodium carboxymethylcellulose fibers integrated with ionic silver. It is a moisture-retention dressing, which forms a gel on contact with wound fluid and has antimicrobial properties of ionic silver. We present a current literature review on Aquacel Ag((R)), of both in vitro and in vivo efficacy and clinical applications. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the wide antimicrobial properties of Aquacel Ag((R)), and additionally demonstrated the cytotoxicity of ionic silver to keratinocytes and fibroblasts that cause delay in wound re-epithelialization...

BACKGROUND: This randomized, open-label study evaluated Aquacel Ag Hydrofiber dressing with silver (HDS; ConvaTec, Skillman, NJ, USA) with an adherent or gelled protocol in the management of split-thickness donor sites. METHODS: HDS was the primary dressing in the adherent group (gauze as secondary covering) and gelled group (transparent film as secondary covering). Dressings were changed on study day 1 or 2 and study days 5 (optional), 10 (optional), and 14. The primary outcome was healing (>or=90% re-epithelialization) at study day 14...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the antimicrobial effectiveness of silver- and iodine-containing wound dressings against preformed mature biofilms of pathogenic wound bacteria grown in vitro. METHOD: Biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus were grown within an in vitro flat bed perfusion biofilm model. Mature biofilms were removed and exposed to wound dressings containing either silver or iodine (Aquacel Ag and Iodozyme) within a static diffusion method, for up to 24 hours...

Pemphigus vulgaris is a life-threatening autoimmune bullous dermatosis and its management represents a major challenge to medical teams. The primary treatments for pemphigus vulgaris are oral steroids and immunosuppressants, but topical approaches also play a role in disease management. Here, we report a patient with pemphigus vulgaris involving 62% of the total body surface area, with initial poor clinical response to systemic steroids and topical silver sulfadiazine therapy. However, a marked improvement in wound healing and decreased patient discomfort were observed after application of silver-containing hydrofiber dressings (Aquacel-Ag)...

PURPOSE: Wound infections can slow healing, increase pain, and have negative effects on a patient's quality of life. The recent emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains has led wound care specialists to revisit alternative topical agents such as silver to control wound bioburden. Aquacel Ag is an ionic silver-containing barrier dressing that is able to absorb large amounts of wound exudate. The aim of this study was to assess the magnetic resonance (MR) safety and compatibility of this dressing, according to the standard requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)...

The split-thickness skin graft (STSG) donor site dressing has been an inconclusive topic. Each of the Hydrofiber (Aquacel, ConvaTec A Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Deeside, UK) and silver dressings have applied in many types of wound care with favorable outcomes. Our study compared the ionic silver-containing Hydrofiber dressing and paraffin gauze dressing. The subjects were randomized into group A: ionic silver-containing Hydrofiber and group B: paraffin gauze. From February 2006 to 2007, 20 donor sites were recorded...

Treatment with silver-containing wound dressings is becoming an increasingly popular strategy to eliminate growth of opportunistic wound pathogens during the healing process. However, there are concerns over the possible side-effects of silver to the patient; coupled to the cost of silver as an ingredient there is a desire to ensure that wound dressings contain the least quantity of active ingredient to ensure the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of silver is maintained in the wound environment. This requires the ability to determine the efficacy of silver directly within the wound environment; an extremely complicated task that is difficult using classical (plate counting) microbiological assays because these cannot be conducted in situ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate and compare the performance of two widely used silver-containing, fibre-based dressings (Silvercel and Aquacel Ag) in terms of exudate management, wound-site adherence, dressing integrity, retention of dressing debris within wounds, frequency of debris-associated foreign body reactions and the impact of both debris and tissue reactions on wound-tissue integrity. METHOD: The dressings were evaluated in a porcine partial-thickness exudating wound model (an in vivo model of moderate to high exudation up to post-wounding day 4, and low exudation from days 4 to 7)...

Deep dermal partial-thickness scalds remain one of the most common types of injuries in childhood. Local treatment of those wounds, alternatively described as IIb degree, is still very controversial. Some authors advise conservative treatment of such wounds, pointing to their ability to self-reepithelialise, which is possible but significantly prolonged. Other investigators postulate operative treatment, i.e., tangential necrectomy and split-thickness autologous skin grafting, which may shorten the time of wound healing...

Wound dressings containing silver as antimicrobial agents are available in various forms and formulations; however, little is understood concerning their comparative efficacy as antimicrobial agents. Eight commercially available silver-containing dressings, Acticoat 7, Acticoat Moisture Control, Acticoat Absorbent, Silvercel, Aquacel Ag, Contreet F, Urgotol SSD and Actisorb, were tested to determine their comparative antimicrobial effectiveness in vitro and compared against three commercially available topical antimicrobial creams, a non treatment control, and a topical silver-containing antimicrobial gel, Silvasorb...

We determined whether a two-part space-conforming polyethylene glycol/dopa polymer-based gel promoted healing of contaminated wounds in mice. This silver-catalysed gel was previously developed to be broadly microbiocidal in vitro while being biocompatible with human wound cell functioning. Full-thickness wounds were created on the backs of mice. The wounds were inoculated with 10(4) CFU of each of four common skin wound contaminants, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanii and Clostridium perfringens...

We sought to study whether the application of a novel silver impregnated antimicrobial dressing (Aquacel Ag, ConvaTec, Princeton, NJ) affects the hospital length of stay in pediatric patients with partial-thickness burns. A retrospective review of Burn Registry Data from a large children's hospital burn unit was conducted to answer this question. Pediatric patients admitted with partial-thickness burns treated with Aquacel Ag from January 2005 through August 2005 were included in the study (n = 39). The comparison group of patients treated with silver sulfadiazine (SSD; Par Pharmeceuticals, Woodcliff, NJ) cream was matched for age and %TBSA burned from the same time period the previous year (n = 40)...

This prospective, randomised clinical trial compared pain, comfort, exudate management, wound healing and safety with Hydrofiber dressing with ionic silver (Hydrofiber Ag dressing) and with povidone-iodine gauze for the treatment of open surgical and traumatic wounds. Patients were treated with Hydrofiber Ag dressing or povidone-iodine gauze for up to 2 weeks. Pain severity was measured with a 10-cm visual analogue scale (VAS). Other parameters were assessed clinically with various scales. Pain VAS scores decreased during dressing removal in both groups, and decreased while the dressing was in place in the Hydrofiber Ag dressing group (n = 35) but not in the povidone-iodine gauze group (n = 32)...

AIMS: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are at risk of infection and impaired healing, placing patients at risk of lower extremity amputation. DFU care requires debridement and dressings. A prospective, multicentre study compared clinical efficacy and safety of AQUACEL Hydrofiber dressings containing ionic silver (AQAg) with those of Algosteril calcium alginate (CA) dressings in managing out-patients with Type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus and non-ischaemic Wagner Grade 1 or 2 DFUs. METHODS: Patients stratified by antibiotic use on enrolment were randomly assigned to similar protocols including off-loading, AQAg (n = 67) or CA (n = 67) primary dressings and secondary foam dressings for 8 weeks or until healing...

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 cell culture, a tissue explant culture model, and a mouse excisional wound model. The results showed that Acticoat, Aquacel Ag, and Contreet Foam, when pretreated with specific solutes, were likely to produce the most significant cytotoxic effects on both cultured keratinocytes and fibroblasts, while PolyMem Silver and Urgotul SSD demonstrated the least cytotoxicity...