Long-Term Care Survey Alert
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FDA gives green light to infection-fighting wound care dressing. Retro Tech in Dallas recently received U.S. Food & Drug Administration approval to market its hydrophilic foam dressing, RetroTech Blue, which contains multiple antimicrobials, according to Steven Warren, MD, DPA, Retro Tech medical advisor.
"The dressing is ... embedded with a combination of gentian violet, methylene blue and silver," Warren tells Long-Term Care Survey Alert. The dressing also has anesthetic properties, a byproduct of gentian violet's numbing properties, he adds. In addition, the dressing "sucks up bacteria and a lot of cytokines causing pain."
The dressing, which is pliable so you don't have to add water, "has been shown to kill methicillin-resistant Staph aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus." The dressing costs about $8 and can be left on for up to three days, says Warren.
Without identifying the product name, Warren presented data on the dressing's efficacy in treating stage 3 and stage 4 pressure ulcers at the 2006 American Medical Directors Association meeting in Dallas. He notes that providers are using the dressing "on all stage pressure ulcers, radiation burns, brown recluse spider bites and diabetic foot ulcers.
"It can be used for every stage of wound healing without having to change anything. The dressing maintains a moist environment and absorbs exudate--and can be used as a wet-to-dry form of debridement."
--Soon to be on your plate: New survey guidance for new tag F373 (paid feeding assistants). The new guidance for surveying long-term care facilities goes into effect Sep. 28, 2007. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a final rule in September 2003 allowing long-term care facilities to use paid feeding assistants under certain conditions, notes a survey and certification memo announcing the survey guidance. "States must approve training programs for feeding assistants using federal requirements as minimum standards," states the memo. In addition, feeding assistants must "successfully complete a state-approved training program and work under the supervision of a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse."
Editor's note: For details on the new F373 tag, read the next Long-Term Care Survey Alert.
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