Silver dressings improve diabetic wound healing without reducing bioburden.

Unlabelled: Introduction. Silver dressings are widely used in the treatment of chronic wounds to reduce bacterial bioburden. However, little is known about the mechanism of silver ions on the healing process.

The prevalence of phenotypic silver resistance in clinical isolates.

Unlabelled: Research has shown silver to be an effective antimicrobial agent against bacteria, virus, yeast, and fungi. Due to the increased use of silver-based wound products during the past decade, concerns of widespread silver resistance have been raised.1 The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of phenotypic silver resistance in clinical isolates.

A clinical trial to investigate the effect of silver nylon dressings on mediastinitis rates in postoperative cardiac sternotomy incisions.

Mediastinitis is a rare but serious postoperative complication of cardiac surgery that increases mortality rates, hospital length of stay, and medical costs. A clinical trial was conducted to investigate whether the type of postoperative surgical dressing (silver nylon or standard gauze) affects the rate of mediastinal infections. The sample consisted of 1,600 surgical cardiac patients.

Alteration in prehospital drug concentration after thermal exposure.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the remaining concentration of 23 commonly carried emergency medical services medications used in the United States after they have experienced thermal extremes that have been documented in the prehospital environment for a period of 1 month.

Methods: Pharmaceuticals were thermally cycled (-6 degrees C and 54 degrees C) every 12 hours and then assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Results: Eight (35%) of 23 prehospital pharmaceuticals revealed ending concentrations of less than 90% with strong correlation to thermal exposure time.

Wound closure after split-thickness skin grafting is accelerated with the use of continuous direct anodal microcurrent applied to silver nylon wound contact dressings.

Wound healing after graft closure of excised burn wounds is a critical factor in the recovery process after thermal injury. Processes that speed time to stable wound closure should lead to improved outcomes, shorter lengths of hospital stays, and decreased complications. A randomized clinical trial to test the ability of continuous direct anodal microcurrent application to silver nylon wound contact dressings was designed.

Practice patterns and outcomes of retrievable vena cava filters in trauma patients: an AAST multicenter study.

Background: The purpose of this study is to describe practice patterns and outcomes of posttraumatic retrievable inferior vena caval filters (R-IVCF).

Methods: A retrospective review of R-IVCFs placed during 2004 at 21 participating centers with follow up to July 1, 2005 was performed. Primary outcomes included major complications (migration, pulmonary embolism [PE], and symptomatic caval occlusion) and reasons for failure to retrieve.