Review on the efficacy, safety and clinical applications of polihexanide, a modern wound antiseptic.
Infected wounds are still one of the great challenges in medicine. In the last decade, it has become increasingly clear that antimicrobial chemotherapy is limited by the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Fortunately, new, highly effective antiseptic substances with a broad antimicrobial spectrum are available, so local treatment is expected to get increasingly more important in wound therapy. This paper reviews the antiseptic agent polihexanide (polyhexamethylene biguanide, PHMB), one of the most promising substances available today, from a clinical point of view, focusing on efficacy, safety and clinical applications.
Hübner
N-O
NO
Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany. nhuebner@uni-greifswald.de
Kramer
A
A
D000327:Adsorption; D000818:Animals; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000633:toxicity; D001645:Biguanides / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000633:toxicity; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006801:Humans; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects; D014945:Wound Healing; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D001645:Biguanides; C031233:polihexanide