A pilot study of the use of biocide-impregnated gauze as an adjunct to wound care in a burn population.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of a polyhexamethylene biguanide biocide-impregnated gauze (Kerlix™ AMD gauze dressing, Covidien d/b/a Tyco Healthcare Group LP) as an adjuvant to routine burn care and its impact on the incidence of hospital-associated infections in burn population. One hundred eight burn patients admitted to the Burn Treatment Center were prospectively enrolled from August 2008 to June 2009 and matched 1:2 with historic controls who were admitted from March 2006 to July 2008. Clinical care remained otherwise unchanged; however, several hospital initiatives (the national surgical improvement project, the surgical care improvement project, and a central venous line bundle) were initiated before and during the study. There were significantly less infections in the study population (18.52% of case patients vs 28.70% of control patients had infections, P = .047). Although there was a decrease in each infection subtype analyzed, a statistically significant reduction was only reached for pneumonias (1.85% in cases vs 5.86 in controls, P = .042). Implementation of polyhexamethylene biguanide biocide-impregnated gauze was temporally correlated with a significant decrease in healthcare-associated infections in burn population. As there was no corresponding decrease in wound infections, the impact of the gauze on healthcare-associated infections, if any, cannot be conclusively determined by this study. A larger prospective study powered to detect a decrease in wound-related infections is warranted.
Department of Surgery, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52246, USA.
Lucy
L
Wibbenmeyer
Ingrid
I
Williams
Junlin
J
Liao
Jason
J
Heard
Gerald Patrick
GP
Kealey
Rachel
R
Miller
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001458:Bandages; D001645:Biguanides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002053:Burn Units; D002056:Burns / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult
D001645:Biguanides; D004202:Disinfectants