Smith+Nephew has announced the US launch of the new PICO 14 Single Use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy System (sNPWT), which has a pump duration of up to 14 days. According to a statement, the new pump builds on the features and advantages of previous PICO sNPWT variants, and comes with an enhanced pump which requires less user intervention.
Fourteen days of therapy may be particularly relevant for patients where both the risk of surgical site complications and the consequence of obtaining them are high, such as cardiothoracic surgery and abdominal surgery.
Complications following coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) can devastate patient lives, with up to a 35% in-hospital mortality rate associated with deep sternal wound infections and mediastinitis, and length of stay as long as 23 days per patient, which incurs substantial healthcare associated costs.
Following colorectal surgery, the consequences to the patient and healthcare system of a surgical site infection (SSI) have a similar impact, with hospital lengths of stay as high as 28 days in a surgery speciality that also has one of the highest incidences of SSI rates of up to 28%.
In one study, prophylactic use of PICO sNPWT significantly reduced the incidence of wound complications by 70% following coronary artery bypass graph surgery, compared with standard dressings. In a study of elective and emergency abdominal surgery PICO sNPWT demonstrated a 74% reduction in surgical site infection rate at 30 days postoperatively, again compared to standard dressings.
Paolo Di Vincenzo, senior vice president US Commercial, Smith+Nephew, said: “This innovative sNPWT system delivers additional design improvements that contribute to patient management and health care professional efficiency, keeping Smith+Nephew at the forefront of delivering innovative negative pressure solutions.”
The risk of developing a post-operative wound complication depends on the type of surgery and patient risk factors. The presence of just one major risk factor, such as a BMI higher than 40 or uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, or two or more moderate risk factors, like advanced age and smoking, places patients at high risk of surgical site complications.
The PICO sNPWT dressing includes a proprietary AIRLOCK layer that uniformly and consistently delivers sufficient NPWT across a surgical incision and the surrounding zone of injury.
This unique feature is designed to help reduce the risk of wound complications by reducing post-operative fluid and tension around a closed surgical incision, when compared with standard dressings. The combination of these actions helps reduce the risk of surgical wound dehiscence and SSIs, the two most common surgical site complications.
