Data Highlight Clinical, Resource and Cost Benefits of Advanced Antimicrobial Dressing
SKILLMAN, N.J. — Data show that a protocol of care using ConvaTec’s AQUACEL® Ag Hydrofiber® absorbent antimicrobial dressing provided clinical and resource benefits, including fewer dressing changes, reduced hospital length of stay, and better cost-effectiveness compared to silver sulfadiazine (silvadene) cream for the management of adult and pediatric patients with partial thickness burns.1,2 The data are from two separate studies presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Burn Association.
The first study1, a multi-center, prospective, randomized phase III clinical trial, evaluated protocols of care comparing AQUACEL® Ag Hydrofiber® dressing with silver sulfadiazine, considered the gold standard topical treatment, in 84 adult and pediatric patients for up to 21 days. All patients had superficial, mid-dermal, or mixed partial thickness-burns, covering five to 40 percent of total body surface area.
Study results showed that based on dressings, labor, and medications, the mean total cost of clinical care in the AQUACEL® Ag Hydrofiber® protocol dressing group tended to be lower than silver sulfadiazine protocol group ($1,040.00 vs. $1,180.80). Furthermore, a higher percentage of patients in the AQUACEL® Ag dressing protocol group (73.8 percent vs. 60 percent) achieved full reepithelialization over the burn site by 21 days, resulting in an average total cost savings of nearly $560 per burn healed.1
Additional secondary endpoints observed in the AQUACEL® Ag Hydrofiber® dressing group compared to the silver sulfadiazine group included:
- Fewer than half the number of dressing changes per day (.5 vs. 1.2) and in total over 21 days (7.7 vs. 19.1)
- Less nursing time required per dressing change (35 vs. 53 minutes)
- Reduction in procedural medications required 1
“As clinicians will attest, changing burn dressings often causes trauma upon removal and anxiety for the patient,” said lead investigator Daniel M. Caruso, MD, FACS, Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Medical Director of The Arizona Burn Center at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ. “Advanced dressings like AQUACEL® Ag, that not only support safe and effective healing but also require fewer changes and provide greater patient comfort, should naturally be received as an improved standard of care.”
This phase III study was supported by a grant from ConvaTec.
AQUACEL® AG Hydrofiber® Dressing Reduces Hospital Length of Stay in Pediatric Patients
In the second study presented at the ABA meeting, AQUACEL® Ag Hydrofiber® dressing was shown to reduce the average length of hospital stay in pediatric patients with partial thickness burns.2
The retrospective review of Burn Registry Data from the Columbus Children’s Hospital (OH) analyzed data from 79 pediatric patients with partial thickness burns treated with either AQUACEL® Ag Hydrofiber® dressing or silver sulfadiazine cream. The comparative groups were matched for age and burn type over the same time period, and limited to no more than 22 percent total body surface area (TBSA) burned. Patients requiring grafting and with inhalation injury were excluded, and mean stays were adjusted to control for TBSA variances.
The analysis revealed an average reduction in the adjusted mean length of hospital stay by more than one third (3.8 vs. 5.9 days,) for the AQUACEL® Ag dressing treatment group.2
This study did not receive financial support from ConvaTec.
About ConvaTec
ConvaTec, a world-leading manufacturer of ostomy and wound care products with a 25-year heritage of caring about patients, is a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY). Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global pharmaceutical and related health care products company. For more information, please call 800-422-8811 or visit www.convatec.com.
About ConvaTec Wound Therapeutics
With a 25-year heritage of caring for patients and a commitment to innovation in wound therapeutics, ConvaTec is at the forefront of the movement to change the way health care professionals are managing chronic and acute wounds. Since the introduction of DuoDERM® Hydroactive Dressing in 1982, ConvaTec has been a pioneer in the establishment of moist wound healing.
Today, ConvaTec is building on this strong heritage with newer brands such as Versiva® - a sterile dressing that combines several advanced technologies to support management of exuding wounds, and AQUACEL® Hydrofiber® Dressing.
AQUACEL® Ag Hydrofiber® dressing is an absorbent, antimicrobial barrier dressing that features all the moisture retentive benefits of AQUACEL® Hydrofiber® dressing plus ionic silver. It is a soft, conformable dressing that forms a cool gelling sheet on contact with exudate (wound fluid). Upon contact, a moist, sequestered environment supports wound healing while providing antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of pathogens.Indications under the supervision of a healthcare professional include the management of partial thickness burns, skin grafts and donor sites, postoperative wounds, diabetic foot ulcers, leg ulcers and pressure ulcers. (See the Package Insert for full instructions for use.)
1Caruso D, et al. Randomized Clinical Study of Hydrofiber Dressing With Silver or Silver Sulfadiazine in the Management of Partial Thickness Burns; Data accepted for oral presentation at the 2006 American Burn Association Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, 4 April, 2006.
2Paddock H, Besner G, et al. A Silver Impregnated Antimicrobial Dressing Reduces Hospital Length of Stay for Pediatric Burn Patients; Data accepted for oral presentation at the 2006 American Burn Association Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, 5 April, 2006.