This clinical study is a prospective, randomized, controlled trial of patients undergoing elective colorectal surgical procedures that receive an abdominal skin incision of at least 6 cm. Treatment with Silverlon® will be compared to standard postoperative dressings of 4x4 Gauze and paper tape. Patients will be randomized with a 1:1 treatment allocation ratio to receive either 1) Silverlon® or 2) standard postsurgical dressing. Neither the Investigators nor the participants will be blinded to the treatment modality after randomization. Silver has long been known to have antimicrobial properties. It interacts with structural proteins and DNA, inhibiting bacterial replication and causing fatal structural changes within the cell wall. It has broad antimicrobial activities and unlike antibiotics, it is rarely associated with microbial resistance. Silverlon® is a silver-nylon dressing specifically designed for surgical wounds to prevent the development of surgical site infections. It is an easy to use product with no known microbial resistance or adverse effects. The efficacy of Silverlon® in preventing surgical site infections has been shown in several retrospective studies but as of yet has not been tested in a prospective fashion. The objective of this study is to perform a prospective, randomized, clinical trial directly comparing the incidence of surgical site infections in patients treated with Silverlon® to standard postoperative dressing following elective colorectal surgery
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
110
Silverlon dressings are gauze impregnated with silver ions
Standard dry gauze dressing
Tampa General Hospital and University of South Florida Medical Clinics
Tampa, Florida, United States
Surgical Site Infection
We will monitor the incision from the day of surgery to post operative day 30 to determine if the incision needs antibiotics.
Time frame: Day of surgery up to 30 days post operatively
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