Kendall AMD Antimicrobial foam dressing 8.8cm x 7.5cm rectangular (fenestrated)

Country: United Kingdom

Language: English

Source: MHRA (Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency)

Available from:

fenestrated) (H & R Healthcare Ltd

Class:

No Controlled Drug Status

Prescription type:

Never Valid To Prescribe As A VMP

Product summary:

BNF:

Patient Information leaflet


INTRODUCTION
Kendall™ AMD antimicrobial foam dressings
incorporate the effective antimicrobial agent
POLYHEXAMETHYLENE BIGUANIDE (PHMB — also
known as polihexanide) with a highly absorbent
foam. These dressings are particularly suited to
the management of acute or chronic wounds with
moderate to high levels of exudation where there is
an increased risk or evidence of wound infection.
Authors: Spruce P, Edwards-Jones V, Ivins N,
Ciprandi G, Sibbald RG, Shah C, Patel H.
Full author details can be found on page 6.
ROLE OF ANTIMICROBIAL DRESSINGS
All chronic wounds contain a mixture of different bacteria, often
from the patient’s skin or intestinal tract. These may include some
known pathogens that ultimately cause infection. Common
pathogens seen in chronic wounds include Staphylococcus
aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and
occasionally a mixture of anaerobic bacteria and fungi. The
bacteria may secrete a range of toxins and enzymes that degrade
newly formed tissue and perpetuate an inflammatory reaction.
This may cause problems such as delayed wound healing or
wound degradation
1
.
Furthermore, it is now widely accepted that most chronic wounds
contain biofilms
2
. These comprise a thin layer of microorganisms,
which are bound in a matrix of secreted polymers that adhere to
the wound bed surface
3
. Bacteria growing in a biofilm are up to
1,000 times more resistant to antibiotics than the same bacteria
outside a biofilm
4
. As a result, systemic antimicrobial therapy may
not be effective.
In recent years, the management of increased wound bioburden
has moved towards the use of topical antimicrobial agents
because of mounting recognition of the problems caused by
antibiotic resistance. Unlike antibiotics, which generally have a
single mode of action, topical antimicrobial agents tend to have
multiple modes of action on microbial cells. This means that they
have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity and a low risk of
developing resistance
5
. Increasingly, topical antimicrobial agents
are