MRSA Notes

Much ado has been made lately about Surgical Site Infections (SSI’s) and how they are one of the most commonly reported nosocomial (healthcare-acquired) infections. Dr. Robert Penn has been doing his own research on them, trying to discover what can be done to lower the rates of infection. Good for him!! He has found that antimicrobial gauze (traded under the name Kerix AMD Gauze Dressing from Tyco Healthcare) was indeed helpful.

“When we compared our processes to the CDC recommendations, we found that preoperative and intraoperative interventions did not appear to be problematic in terms of preparation and technique. However, we did notice that there was an ongoing problem with third spacing or edema at the incision site; this led to separation of wound margins that could allow microbes to enter the surgical area. As a dressing, we were using conventional sterile gauze that would often become moistened from contact with the wound. My colleagues and I hypothesized that the gauze had a porous structure that was allowing bacteria into the open wound, particularly when wet.”

In the process of his study, he very carefully evaluated his practices according to the CDC guidelines, so regardless of how well he thinks he was doing, some of the improvement must be related. But good to know there are products out there that are doing the trick - and better yet to know that there are doctors that are so concerned.

Source

Education, Research and Development

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