2018 ESP Award Nominee: Silverlon Lifesaver Catheter Disc

The 2018 Excellence in Surgical Products Awards will be presented in the November/December issue of Surgical Products. Leading up to the publication of that issue, nominees will be featured on the Surgical Products website.

Category: Infection Control

Product description and innovation synopsis:

Silverlon’s Lifesaver Catheter Discs are antimicrobial dressings with a unique permanent silver-plated metallic surface ideal for IVs, central lines, and pin sites. Eradicating MRSA in as little as 4 hours, Silverlon Lifesaver Catheter Discs are effective against a broad spectrum of pathogens and contain typically 100 times more silver than impregnated silver dressings. Utilizing a large reservoir of deliverable silver ions, Lifesaver Catheter Discs continuously deliver an effective level of silver ions in the dressing for up to 7 days.

What sets this product apart from others available in the industry?

Silverlon Lifesaver Catheter Discs — silver-plated antimicrobial dressings for central venous catheters (CVCs) — have an antimicrobial effect within 2 hours against MRSA in the dressing, with eradication in 4 hours. Silverlon Lifesaver Catheter Discs have been studied in multiple specialties, including a recent independent, peer-reviewed study at Tampa General Hospital published in the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine. One clinical study demonstrated a 46 percent reduction in the rate of central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in adult ICU patients per 1,000 catheter days with the use of Lifesaver Catheter Discs compared to chlorhexidine gluconate-impregnated sponge (CHGIS) dressings.

How does this product benefit the surgical team and aid in better outcomes?

Because CLABSI rates are a significant cause of patient morbidity, mortality and prolonged hospital stays, Silverlon’s Lifesaver Catheter Discs give surgical teams the broad-spectrum antimicrobial effect of silver that rapidly kills pathogens in the dressing in as little as 4 hours. Since the study using Silverlon Lifesaver Discs, Tampa General hospital has maintained its reduced CLABSI rates for 6 years by implementing Lifesaver Discs in 7 different ICUs: medical, coronary care, neurological, burn, surgical trauma, cardiothoracic, and vascular — and lower CLABSI rates have been associated with an estimated cost savings of $4,070 to $39,600 per 1,000 catheter days.