2005 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care | |
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Case Study
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The evaluation of a silver coated anti-microbial barrier dressing in the successful treatment of venous and mixed aetiology leg ulcers in a community clinic setting. Shui-Ling Briggs, BSc, RGN, Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust, Surrey, UK The use of silver has been used for centuries as an anti-bacterial agent (White 2002) but it has seen somewhat of a resurgence due to the recent phenomenon of new antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria and the widespread over-use of antibiotics (Wright et al 1998). A plethora of new dressings have recently becoming available to the clinician, all incorporating silver into their composition, to a greater or lesser degree, all offering a range of different delivery systems (Ballard & McGregor 2002, Hampton S. 2001). This may appear confusing to a busy nurse on the ward. In my role as clinical nurse specialist of a community leg ulcer clinic, it is important to objectively review all the products that claim to use silver as an anti-microbial agent, and to decide which is the most clinically efficacious and also the most cost effective for my leg ulcer service. The review included discussing the composition and performance of the products with the manufacturers, reviewing the technical data available and any clinical evidence. Further to reading the published work by Thomas (2003) I decided to evaluate a new silver coated anti-microbial barrier dressing*. My experiences and the results from the evaluation are published in a short case study series of three leg ulcers, treated in a community leg ulcer clinic setting. * Acticoat 7 (with Silcryst Nanocrystals), Smith & Nephew Inc., Largo, FL. References Ballard K, McGregor F. Avance: silver hydropolymer dressing for critically colonised wounds. Br J Nurs. 2002;11(3):206–210. Hampton S. Actisorb silver 220: a unique antibacterial dressing. Br J Nurs. 2001;10(Suppl 15):17–19. Thomas S, McCubbin P. A comparison of the antimicrobial effects of four silver-containing dressings on three organisms. J Wound Care. 2003;12(3):101–107. White RJ. An historical overview of the use of silver in modern wound management. Br J Nurs. 2002;15(10)(Suppl):3–8. Wright JB, Lam K, Burrell RE. Wound management in an era of increasing bacterial antibiotic resistance: a role for topical silver treatment. Am J Infect Control. 1998;26(6):572–577. |
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