Early Pilot Clinical Evaluation of a Novel Antimicrobial Silver Hydrogel

Wounds and infection are associated with an increase in hospital length of stay.¹ Elderly and diabetic patients are at an increased risk of wounds, poor wound healing and infection due to lower immune competency.² The rise in multidrug resistant infections is becoming increasingly more problematic in wound management.³  More cost effective topical treatments are needed to address this problem.

Silver dressings have been utilized in topical wound care with proven antimicrobial activity against various microorganisms. However, high concentrations of silver are known to be cytotoxic and limit recommended product use to less than 2 weeks.^4,5

CelaCare Antimicrobial Wound Gel (CAWG) is a novel hydrogel consisting of a proprietary silver salt and acemannan, an extract from Aloe veraknown for its wound healing and immunomodulatory properties. This combination allows for a substantial reduction in silver content while maintaining its antimicrobial activity. A CAWG verification study was conducted in Nicaragua to verify and assess safety and early effectiveness of CAWG. Total of 7 patients were treated with CAWG for 5 days. The size, pain level prior to and after application, and wound appearance were evaluated every other day.

The positive outcomes for study participants included reduction in wound size and decrease in pain level. Prior to treatment, one patient was bedfast due to chronic ulcerations on his leg that resulted from an early venous stasis wound occurring in1996. Following treatment, he became ambulatory with noticeable reduction in wound size, pain level and evidence of early wound granulation.

CelaCare’s novel hydrogel substantially improved patients’ wound status providing an initial return to healing. Further studies of greater duration should be performed to better elucidate the positive effects of CAWG.