Silver coated catheters less infection prone

nk: I-Flow Leads Infection Prevention Trend By Using Silver With Antimicrobial Properties In Medical Devices.

-Flow Corporation (NASDAQ:IFLO) is leading and helping to define a rapidly emerging trend of using silver as an antimicrobial agent to help reduce infections with its ON-Q® PainBuster® with ON-Q SilverSoaker® Antimicrobial Catheter combination. This approach was supported in a recent study published in The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (Roe et al), entitled "Antimicrobial surface functionalization of plastic catheters by silver nanoparticles." The study confirmed the potential usefulness of plastic catheters coated with proprietary silver nanoparticles, because of their demonstrated antimicrobial properties, and concluded that the treated catheters may be useful in reducing infectious complications in patients with indwelling catheters. Since early 2006 patients have benefited from I-Flow's foresight to market and sell the ON-Q SilverSoaker, a patented Soaker catheter that is treated with SilvaGard®, a specially-formulated antimicrobial silver agent developed by AcryMed, Inc, an I-Flow subsidiary. SilvaGard is an established antimicrobial coating that is effective against a wide variety of microorganisms and common pathogens, including MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), that may cause surgical site infections (SSI). The Roe et al study, published in February, measured microbial and biofilm formation against pathogens most commonly involved in catheter-related infections. The surface of the catheters was coated with a thin layer of sustained-release silver nanoparticles which then eluted over a period of 10 days. The coated catheters showed significant in vitro antimicrobial activity and inhibited biofilm formation of Escherichia coli, Enterococcus, Staphylococcus aureaus, and other strains of bacteria.