Clinical Case Series to Evaluate a Silver Foam Dressing

Clinical Problem: Hospital readmissions for wound infections are a growing concern in home care. The high cost for antimicrobial dressings may limit the use of these dressings for some patients with critically colonized or wounds at risk for infection. The WOC nurse is often asked to provide options and choices for antimicrobial dressings. Extensive product knowledge and product evaluation is critical for WOC nurses to optimize interventions and outcomes. This series of case studies outlines the efficacy and performance of a novel tri-layer foam dressing containing a silver contact layer.

Past management: The patients selected for this study had wounds that would have been treated with a silver dressing from the home health agency’s formulary.

Clinical Approach A target sample of 30 patients  with wounds that the WOC nurse would have recommended for treatment with a silver dressing was set.  The patients were treated consistently with the novel silver dressing for up to 8 weeks. The home health nurse changed the dressing 1 to 2 times a week, assessed the wound and evaluated the dressing’s efficacy and exudate management.  The patient/nurse satisfaction for ease of application, dressing conformability, and pain experienced by the patient with application/removal of the dressing was evaluated.

Patient Outcomes: Nurses found the dressing  to be user friendly, conforming to the wound bed and effective  in containing exudates without maceration of periwound skin. Patients reported that the dressings were comfortable  with a wear time of up to 7 days, and did not cause pain when applied or removed.

Conclusions, Clinical implications:  The current formulary utilizes a silver foam, a silver alginate, and a silver contact layer. The trial demonstrated that the new tri-laminated silver foam dressing is an effective alternative to the silver dressings on formulary, and can be purchased at a significantly lower cost.