Efficacy of Antimicrobial Silver‐Plated Dressings Compared to Usual Care in Preventing Left Ventricular Assist Device Driveline Infections
- 1Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Aortic Surgery Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria
- 2Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria
Abstract
Background: Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) driveline infections (DLIs) represent one of the most common adverse events in LVAD patients. This study investigates the effectiveness of a silver‐plated antimicrobial dressing (Silverlon, Bravida Medical) in addition to usual driveline wound care for DLI‐prevention. The primary outcome was six‐months freedom from DLI. Secondary outcomes included independent risk factors for DLI, freedom from DLI‐related hospital readmission, freedom from negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) and temporal changes in DESTINE wound staging.
Methods: This single center cohort study included 61 patients implanted with a HeartMate 3 LVAD between 2022 and 2025 (8.2% female; median age 61 (55; 67 IQR) years; BMI 27.2 (±4.42 STD) kg/m2). Starting with the first follow‐up visit (FFUV) after hospital discharge, 39 patients received usual wound care, while 22 patients additionally received Silverlon.
Results: The Silverlon group demonstrated a significantly greater freedom from DLI (100% vs. 71.8%; p = 0.017). No independent predictors of DLI were identified due to the complete absence of DLIs in the Silverlon group (0 vs. 11 events); multivariable Cox regression effect could not be mathematically estimated. The Silverlon group showed 100% freedom from DLI‐related readmission and NPWT therapy (vs. 97.4%; p = 0.45). DESTINE stages 0–1 predominated within the Silverlon group; severe stages (3, 4) occurred exclusively within the usual care group (p > 0.22).
Conclusion: Given the substantial burden of DLI, integrating silver‐plated wound dressings into standard LVAD wound care appears to be a safe and effective strategy, associated with enhanced wound healing and a reduction in DLI incidence.
Related
- Prevention and Management of Driveline Infections in Ventricular Assist Device Patients: The DESTINE 2.0 Staging Proposal and Expert Recommendations
- Invisible shield: sprayable supramolecular antimicrobial microscale films for preventing wound and medical device infections.
- Chitosan-stabilized electrospun nanofiber dressings with embedded flame-made nanosilver for the treatment of resistant infections
- The efficacy of taurolidine lock solution in preventing catheter-related bloodstream infections in pediatrics: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Preventing Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections in Women: A Narrative Review.
BibTeX
@article{veiter2026efficacy,
title = {{Efficacy of Antimicrobial Silver‐Plated Dressings Compared to Usual Care in Preventing Left Ventricular Assist Device Driveline Infections}},
author = {Barbara Veiter and Martina Socha and Christiane Marko and Nesibe Seyda Colak and Alexandra Kuhn and Hebe Al Asadi and Julia Riebandt and Roxana Moayedifar and Daniel Zimpfer and Thomas Schlöglhofer},
journal = {Artificial Organs},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1111/aor.70214},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/aor.70214},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Efficacy of Antimicrobial Silver‐Plated Dressings Compared to Usual Care in Preventing Left Ventricular Assist Device Driveline Infections
AU - Barbara Veiter
AU - Martina Socha
AU - Christiane Marko
AU - Nesibe Seyda Colak
AU - Alexandra Kuhn
AU - Hebe Al Asadi
AU - Julia Riebandt
AU - Roxana Moayedifar
AU - Daniel Zimpfer
AU - Thomas Schlöglhofer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/05
JO - Artificial Organs
DO - 10.1111/aor.70214
UR - https://doi.org/10.1111/aor.70214
AB - Background: Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) driveline infections (DLIs) represent one of the most common adverse events in LVAD patients. This study investigates the effectiveness of a silver‐plated antimicrobial dressing (Silverlon, Bravida Medical) in addition to usual driveline wound care for DLI‐prevention. The primary outcome was six‐months freedom from DLI. Secondary outcomes included independent risk factors for DLI, freedom from DLI‐related hospital readmission, freedom from negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) and temporal changes in DESTINE wound staging. Methods: This single center cohort study included 61 patients implanted with a HeartMate 3 LVAD between 2022 and 2025 (8.2% female; median age 61 (55; 67 IQR) years; BMI 27.2 (±4.42 STD) kg/m2). Starting with the first follow‐up visit (FFUV) after hospital discharge, 39 patients received usual wound care, while 22 patients additionally received Silverlon. Results: The Silverlon group demonstrated a significantly greater freedom from DLI (100% vs. 71.8%; p = 0.017). No independent predictors of DLI were identified due to the complete absence of DLIs in the Silverlon group (0 vs. 11 events); multivariable Cox regression effect could not be mathematically estimated. The Silverlon group showed 100% freedom from DLI‐related readmission and NPWT therapy (vs. 97.4%; p = 0.45). DESTINE stages 0–1 predominated within the Silverlon group; severe stages (3, 4) occurred exclusively within the usual care group (p > 0.22). Conclusion: Given the substantial burden of DLI, integrating silver‐plated wound dressings into standard LVAD wound care appears to be a safe and effective strategy, associated with enhanced wound healing and a reduction in DLI incidence.
SN - 0160-564X
SN - 1525-1594
ER -