A new, multi-country, clinical evaluation study showed that AQUACEL™ Ag+ wound dressing demonstrated positive results in wounds, including those compromised by biofilm and/or infection.

AQUACEL™ Ag+ dressings are designed to disrupt biofilm and kill infection-causing bacteria in the wound dressing. Biofilms are formed when colonies of surface-attached bacteria secrete a slime to protect themselves. They are believed to exist in the majority of chronic wounds, are difficult to disrupt and can reform quickly. Biofilm contributes to adverse patient outcomes that include delayed healing, and may be a precursor to clinical infection.

In the study, which was published in the January issue of the Journal of Wound Care, a single wound in each of 113 patients was observed over an average treatment period of 4.1 weeks. By the end of the study:

• 95 percent of all wounds either improved or healed completely
• 63 percent of all wounds achieved at least a 75 percent reduction in wound size, with an average reduction in wound size of 73 percent across all wounds

Based on these positive results and using a recently published wound care costing method, investigators estimated a potential approximate 30 percent savings in the cost of primary dressings when AQUACEL™ Ag+ dressing is used.

"Our awareness and understanding of biofilm -- its ubiquitous nature and role in delayed healing of chronic wounds -- has increased greatly over the past few years," said Kevin Woo, Assistant Professor at Queen's University in Ontario Canada. "The results I saw using AQUACEL™ Ag+ dressing during the clinical evaluation provide a good indication of this product's ability to address biofilm and bacterial burden."

"The results of this study are very exciting -- providing further evidence of this new dressing's antimicrobial performance, which may help improve healing outcomes and help hospitals and other payers reduce their total costs of care," added Phil Bowler, Vice President of Science and Technology, ConvaTec.