Over 100 booths displaying both new and familiar skin and wound care products lined the exhibit hall at the 19th Annual Clinical Symposium on Advances in Skin & Wound Care, September 30 to October 3, 2004, in Phoenix, AZ. Several products made their debut at the annual conference; many others on display had entered the market earlier this year.
Our report on the symposium's exhibit hall focuses on these newer products. It is limited to products from companies exhibiting at the Clinical Symposium; it is not meant to be inclusive of all products released this year.
In addition, practitioners are responsible for understanding a product's attributes and, therefore, must read package inserts before using a product.
Blue Sky Medical
* pH Test Strips- Designed to test the pH level of wound fluid from chronic wounds, the strips display a pH range of 4.5 to 9.0. Accurate charting of pH levels can help indicate a wound's healing status. Test strips have a double square design and can be read 15 seconds after dipping into the wound fluid.
Censeo Inc
* Wound Manager- A risk assessment, documentation, and outcomes management tool, Wound Manager is portable and fits into the palm of the hand. This software solution is designed to reduce nosocomial wounds and to improve treatment of existing wounds by guiding clinicians through a complete risk assessment, including a thorough evaluation of existing wounds. Using Censeo's proprietary algorithms, the software calculates a patient's specific wound risk and helps determine a specific care plan.
Coloplast
* Sween 24 Superior Moisturizing Skin Protectant Cream- Available in single-application packets and 2- and 4-oz tubes, this once-a-day moisturizer is designed for dry, flaky skin. The cream is for external use only.
ConvaTec
*Flexi-Seal FMS-Focusing on patient safety, this fecal management system is designed to improve patient care and reduce the risk of skin breakdown and infection. The soft, flexible, latex-free catheter has a low-pressure balloon that gently conforms to the patient when filled with water or saline. This reduces the risk of necrosis. A closed-end collection bag helps eliminate fecal contact to prevent the spread of infection.
*Aloe Vesta and Sensi-Care, repackaged-New product packaging offers a simple, systematic, and visual approach to these skin care products. The logical color-coding and numbering system is intended to convey distinctive product features to the customer.
DeRoyal
*Algidex Ag-Designed for wet, moist, or dry wounds, this dressing combines silver, alginate, and maltodextrin. Indications for Algidex Ag include venous ulcers, pressure ulcers (Stages I to IV), dermal lesions (or exuding skin injuries), partial-thickness burns, and donor sites.
DM Systems, Inc
*Heelift Traction Boot-The boot applies skin traction to help stabilize femur fractures before surgery by elevating the leg and offering footdrop and rotational control. Each boot includes a customizable foam boot with fixed elevation pad, a spare pad with adhesive backing, hook-and-loop side traction straps, and removable traction bar and rope.
Ferris Manufacturing Corporation
*PolyMem Silver-This new dressing consists of a polyurethane membrane matrix on a semipermeable thin film backing. The hydrophilic membrane contains a cleanser, a moisturizer, an absorbent starch copolymer, and crystalline silver particles.
Hartmann-Conco, Inc
Sterilux-The Sterilux gauze sponge product line has expanded to include sterile and x-ray-detectable sponges packed in rigid trays. Sterilux sponges are made from high-quality yarns and meet USP type VII gauze requirements. The sponge's edges are folded to prevent unraveling, and a low-linting manufacturing process provides debris-free packaging.
HEALTHPOINT
*Accuzyme Spray and Panafil Spray-These debriding agents are now available in spray form, which reduces the potential for cross-contamination and trauma to the wound bed. The controlled delivery systems offer more applications per bottle than a tube, making them less wasteful.
Hollister
* Restore Hydrogels-These fragrance-free wound care dressings have been reformulated and repackaged. Dressings remain moist up to 72 hours and help reduce pain. The hydrogels are available in a 4" x 4" sterile gauze sponge, a 2" by 3.5-yard gauze strip, and a nonsterile, nonirritating clear gel.
Johnson & Johnson Wound Management
* SILVERCEL antimicrobial alginate dressing-This new dressing is indicated for use in moderate to heavily exuding partial- and full-thickness wounds, including pressure ulcers, venous ulcers, diabetic ulcers, donor sites, and traumatic and surgical wounds. SILVERCEL combines the antimicrobial action of silver with the exudate management properties of alginate.
Molnlycke Health Care
* Mepilex Lite dressing-A highly conformable foam dressing, Mepilex Lite is indicated for the management of wounds with little or no exudate, such as leg and foot ulcers, pressure ulcers, partial-thickness burns, radiation skin reactions, and epidermolysis bullosa, as well as for protection of compromised and/or fragile skin. Mepilex Lite is composed of a thin, flexible, absorbent pad of polyurethane foam; a soft silicone wound contact layer (Safetac); and a water-vapor-permeable polyurethane film backing.
Ogenix Corporation
* Epiflo SD transdermal sustained oxygen delivery system-Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of various skin ulcers, amputation sites and infected stumps, skin grafts, burns, and frostbite, Epiflo SD consists of an oxygen concentrator linked via a cannula to an occlusive wound dressing. Epiflo SD continuously blankets the wound with oxygen extracted from the surrounding atmosphere and concentrated to nearly 100%. This concentrated oxygen is delivered at a rate of 3mL/h for 7 days.
Polaroid Corporation
* Macro 5 SLR and HealthCam Kit-The Macro 5 SLR is a close-up camera that is designed for situations in which detail, clarity, and color are important-such as documenting a burn or wound. Magnifications of x0.2, x0.4, x1, x2, and x3 are possible with the turn of a dial. The HealthCam Kit is suited for measuring the closure rate of leg ulcers and pressure ulcers. The kit includes a 1200si instant camera for full-body shots, as well as a close-up lens for recording details.
Smith & Nephew, Inc
* Gladase-C-An enzymatic debriding, deodorizing, and healing ointment, Gladase-C is indicated for the treatment of acute and chronic lesions such as varicose, diabetic, and pressure ulcers; burns; postoperative wounds; pilonidal cyst wounds; carbuncles; and other traumatic or infected wounds.
* VersaJet Hydrosurgery System-This device creates a high-pressure stream of sterile saline for surgical debridement of wounds, combining lavage and sharp debridement.
3M Medical
* Tegaderm Absorbent Clear Acrylic Dressing-This transparent dressing allows easy monitoring of the wound, exudate, and periwound skin, and it may help eliminate unnecessary dressing changes. Conformable to the patient, the dressing is easy to apply and remove and it does not break down. Indications include pressure ulcers, skin tears, abrasions and superficial wounds, donor sites, and superficial partial-thickness burns. The dressing may also be used as a secondary dressing over wound fillers.
* Tegaderm Hydrogel Wound Filler-Convenient and preservative-free, this amorphous gel wound filler is available in 15-g and 25-g sizes for single-patient use. The latex-free filler is indicated for dry to minimally draining pressure, arterial, venous, and diabetic ulcers; wounds with eschar or slough requiring autolytic debridement; open surgical wounds; traumatic wounds; and abrasions.
Tyco Healthcare Kendall
* Curity AMD Antimicrobial Gauze-Designed for moist or dry wounds, this dressing is the newest addition to the AMD product line. The dressing is effective against a variety of organisms, helping to prevent infection in the wound bed and reduce cross contamination. The sterile sponges are available in 2" x 2" and 4" x 4" sizes.
Xylos Corporation
* XCell antimicrobial (XCell AM) cellulose wound dressings-XCell AM, which contains the odorless and colorless antimicrobial agent polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB), is indicated for use on infected and noninfected wounds. It promotes autolytic debridement and may be used for up to 7 days. PHMB demonstrated efficacy in wounds that were nonresponsive to silver dressings.
Zassi Medical Evolutions, Inc
* Bowel Management System (BMS)-This catheter system is designed to divert, collect, and contain potentially harmful fecal contamination from bedridden and immobilized patients in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, and home care settings. The BMS may be especially helpful for patients with severe burns or necrotizing soft-tissue infections affecting the perianal region.