Nanocrystalline silver dressings as an efficient anti-MRSA barrier: a new solution to an increasing problem

The emergence of multi-drug-resistant strains of bacteria represents a particular challenge in the field of wound management. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether nanocrystalline silver dressings possess the physical properties to act as a barrier to the transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the laboratory setting and in a clinical setting. Initially, MRSA suspension and colony culture experiments were performed showing that nanocrystalline silver dressings act as potent and sustained antimicrobial agents, efficiently inhibiting MRSA penetration. Subsequently, a double-centre clinical trial was initiated using nanocrystaline silver dressings as a cover for 10 MRSA colonized wounds in a total of seven patients. By delineating the MRSA toad on the upper side of the dressing and the wound bed each time the dressing was changed (i.e. after 1, 24, 48 and 72 h), nanocrystaline silver dressings were found to provide a complete, or almost complete, barrier to the penetration/spread of MRSA in 95% of readings. In addition, 67% of all wound observations showed a decrease in the MRSA toad with an eradication rate of 11%. We believe that nanocrystalline silver dressings may become an important part of local MRSA management, with cost benefits to both patients and the healthcare system. (c) 2005 The Hospital Infection Society. Published by Etsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.