A 2020 report from the RAND Corporation includes key findings and recommendations for silver-plated nylon dressing technology and its effectiveness in infection prevention and prolonged care of military burn injuries – a leading cause of fatality of service members.
“The RAND report highlights evidence about the antimicrobial properties of SILVERLON dressings as critical to infection prevention after burn or blast injuries,” said LTC Julie Rizzo, MD, FACS, burn and trauma surgeon for the U.S. Institute of Surgical Research. “Because evacuation is not always immediately possible, SILVERLON is ideal for managing burn injuries in prolonged field care settings.”
RAND researchers conducted an independent, comprehensive literature review and synthesis of the evidence surrounding blast-related burn injuries. Findings and recommendations presented in the report, titled “The Effect of Blast-Related Burn Injuries from Prolonged Field Care to Rehabilitation and Resilience: A Review of the Scientific Literature”, are intended to raise awareness about the current state of the science in treating burn injuries. According to the report, burns are one of the most difficult types of injury to treat:
- Infection control and prevention are critical to burn care, especially because research shows that pathogens to which service members are exposed in current combat operations are increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
- Research shows that appropriate bandaging to avoid infection is critical; silver-nylon dressing has been found to be uniquely portable and easy to use and has key antimicrobial properties.
- The report also includes a 2018 study that found “compared with topical antimicrobial agents, silver-nylon dressing had lower infection rates …”
- Newer silver-impregnated dressings are ideal for prolonged field care. They can be left in place for seven days without being changed and can be rewetted to be used again.
The report includes summary recommendations based on results of the literature review and synthesis of the evidence that point to silver nylon dressing as a potential standard of care:
- Finally, studies yielding direct applications — such as investigations finding that silver-nylon dressing is uniquely portable and easy-to-use and has key antimicrobial properties — might serve as guideposts for standard setting.
The report was sponsored by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command and the DoD Blast Injury Research Coordinating Office, and was conducted within the Forces and Resources Policy Center of the RAND National Security Research Division.
This report from the RAND Corporation — a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization — is part of the RAND research series that present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. The RAND Corporation develops solutions to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. The report is available for download here.
“We are honored to have the credibility of the RAND Corporation’s rigorous, evidence-based analysis of the research that affirms the effectiveness of our silver-plated nylon dressings in treating burn and blast injuries,” said Raul Brizuela, president and CEO of Argentum Medical, a medical device manufacturer that pioneered the use of silver-plated nylon technology core to its SILVERLON product line. “Originally developed for military combat injuries, our SILVERLON® antimicrobial technology is now used throughout the U.S. Military — and in healthcare settings around the world. Our SILVERLON® dressings contain 50 to 100 times more metallic silver ions than other silver-impregnated dressings.”
SILVERLON® was originally developed for the austere and hostile environment of the battlefield and has since maintained its long history with the U.S. Military.
SILVERLON® is incorporated into numerous deployed Medical Tactical Combat Casualty Care kits and is also supplied in bulk to Combat and Support Hospitals and Tactical Forward Surgical Teams. It is also included in burn care protocols in the Joint Theater Trauma System Clinical Practice Guideline.
