Silver Dressings Augment the Ability of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy to Reduce Bacteria in a Contaminated Open Fracture Model

Abstract

The use of silver dressings with NPWT is a fairly common practice with limited literature to support its use in contaminated wounds. This study demonstrates that the addition of a silver dressing to NPWT effectively reduces bacteria in contaminated wounds and is more beneficial on the gram-positive bacteria. These data support the use of silver dressings in contaminated wounds, particularly ones contaminated by S. aureus.