3M Foam Adhesive Dressing-Heel Design (3M, St Paul, MN) has received a Silver 2005 Medical Design Excellence Award from Canon Communications LLC for design innovation. The Medical Design Excellence Awards competition is the only awards program that exclusively recognizes contributions and advances in the design of medical products.
Available now as 3M Foam Adhesive Dressing, the 3M Foam Adhesive Dressing-Heel Design will soon be part of 3M's Tegaderm brand line. It is a highly absorbent, breathable wound dressing that is constructed from a conformable polyurethane foam pad, an additional absorbent nonwoven layer, and a top layer of transparent adhesive film. This film is moisture vapor permeable, which helps to prevent wound exudate strikethrough and acts as a barrier to outside contamination. The dressing maintains a moist wound environment, which has been shown to enhance wound healing. It is designed to allow easy, 1-handed application to difficult body contours, including heels and elbows.
3M Foam Adhesive Dressings are indicated for use as primary dressings for moderately to highly exuding partial- and full-thickness dermal wounds including pressure ulcers, venous leg ulcers, abrasions, partial- and full-thickness burns, donor sites, arterial ulcers, skin tears, and neuropathic ulcers. The dressings are used to treat wounds in hospitals, long-term-care facilities, wound clinics, and home care.
[black up pointing small triangle] Information:http://www.mmm.com
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the once-daily antibiotic Avelox (moxifloxacin HCl; Schering-Plough Corporation, Kenilworth, NJ) for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) in adults caused by methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, or Enterobacter cloacae.
About 2.5 million cSSSI cases occur in the United States annually, with approximately 400,000 patients requiring hospitalization. Complicated skin and skin structure infections involve deeper soft tissue than uncomplicated skin and skin structure infections (eg, muscle, fat), may require significant surgical intervention to resolve (eg, infected ulcers, burns, major abscesses), or are associated with an underlying disease state that complicates response to treatment. The possible bacterial causes of cSSSI are numerous and depend on the clinical situation, the location of the lesion or infection, and the patient's medical history. Treatment typically involves high doses of antibiotics, often requiring multiple doses per day.
In the studies on which the FDA approval was based, sequential intravenous or oral monotherapy with Avelox once daily for cSSSI patients demonstrated similar efficacy to intravenous piperacillin-tazobactam administered 4 times daily followed by oral amoxicillin-clavulanate twice daily.
The FDA approval to treat cSSSI is the fifth indication for Avelox, which is currently approved in the United States to treat acute bacterial sinusitis, acute bacterial exacerbation of chronic bronchitis, community-acquired pneumonia, and uncomplicated skin and skin structure infections.
[black up pointing small triangle] Information:http://www.aveloxusa.com
The world market for products to treat skin ulcers will grow at nearly 10% per year to surpass $5 billion by 2009, according to a new report released by Kalorama Information, New York, NY. The increasing population of older adults, the availability of new therapeutic techniques, and the recent cost-driven focus on wound care management and prevention are driving the growth.
The new study, Wound Care Markets, Volume I: Skin Ulcers, found that certain segments of the market to treat pressure, neuropathic, arterial, and venous ulcers are mature, such as anti-infectives, most skin ulcer management products, and pressure-relief devices. However, other segments, such as biologic dressings, are still in the infant stages and wide open for development and tremendous growth.
The study examines 6 broad categories of products (anti-infectives, skin ulcer management products, moist dressings, biologic dressings, pressure-relief devices, and other miscellaneous treatments) and more than 14 subcategories, such as compression dressings and bandages, wound cleaners, debridement products, alginates, films, foams, hydrocolloids, hydrogels, artificial skin products, collagen products, and growth factors.
[black up pointing small triangle] Information:http://www.kaloramainformation.com or http://www.marketresearch.com
Hollister Incorporated, Libertyville, IL, has launched The evadri Bladder Control System to help treat urinary incontinence in women. The evadri system works by using electrical signals to retrain weakened pelvic floor muscles, with the goal of improved bladder control function.
At an office-based treatment session, a small sensor is inserted into the vagina. The patient is then asked to do Kegel exercises. The sensor evaluates muscle strength and displays the muscle contraction on a screen so that the health care provider can determine if the patient is using the correct muscles. Biofeedback helps patients identify their pelvic muscles so that they can practice on their own at home.
The pelvic floor muscles are strengthened during a series of 6 to 8 office-based treatment sessions, each lasting approximately 30 to 45 minutes. Some patients have noted improved bladder control in as little as 6 weeks. Others may need follow-up sessions after their initial treatment regimen to achieve improvement.
[black up pointing small triangle] Information:http://www.hollister.com
Zassi Medical Evolutions Inc, Fernandina Beach, FL, has been awarded a 3-year dual source agreement for the Zassi Bowel Management System by Consorta, a leading group purchasing and resource management organization in the health care industry. Consorta's members include more than 520 acute care facilities and more than 300 extended care facilities in the United States. The agreement went into effect August 1, 2005.
[black up pointing small triangle] Information:http://www.zassimedical.com