Medical Device Daily National Editor

and MDDs

SAN FRANCISCO Infections of both the community-acquired and hospital-acquired varieties are a huge problem facing healthcare, and more and more attention is being given the problem on local and global levels.

Controlling methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other super bugs was the topic of a media briefing during last week s American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS; Rosemont, Illinois) annual meeting at the Moscone Convention Center here.

Moderator Richard Parker Evans, MD, chief of adult reconstructive surgery and associate professor of orthopedics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Little Rock), said that surgical sites are particularly prone to developing MRSA infections, especially open fractures with large wounds.

More than 500,000 surgical-site infections occur every year, and we are running out of options to treat them. As orthopedic surgeons, learning how to prevent them is going to be the key for us and for the safety of our patients.

Panelist David Wong, MD, of Presbyterian St. Luke s Medical Center (Denver), reported on the World Health Organization s (WHO; Geneva, Switzerland) efforts with its World Alliance for Patient Safety.

The two-pronged program is focused first on hygiene, including pressing for hand hygiene protocols to reduce hospital-acquired infections, and secondly on surgical safety, with emphasis on reducing medical errors and promoting surgical team communication.

James Stannard, MD, professor of surgery and chief of orthopedic trauma at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, presented findings of a randomized study on use of negative-pressure wound therapy via Kinectic Concepts (KCI; San Antonio) VAC device to guard against infection and wound breakdown following high-risk fracture surgery.

We hit the wound with sub-atmospheric pressure, or negative pressure, Stannard said. The VAC creates a suction, which helps pull off excess fluid and increase blood flow to the site.

In all, 248 patients with 262 fractures were randomized, 118 patients with 1231 fractures into the control group and 130 patients with 141 fractures into the NPWT group.

The mean VAC treatment time was remarkably short just 59 hours, or about 2-1/2 days. Infection results included 24 total in the control group and 14 in the VAC arm.

Stannard, said, We need a lot more data, including more patients and more wound types, but it appears this treatment can help solve infection problems before they become worse and much more costly than the relatively low cost of the VAC treatment, which he pegged at perhaps $500 for the 2-1/2 days it was applied.

In other news from AAOS:

This is AAOS s 75th annual meeting, duly noted on signs throughout the Moscone Convention Center s three buildings, celebrated during the official opening session and marked by activities, publications and presentations grouped under the 75th Anniversary Project banner.

One of note is the 3-D exhibit known as the Academy Chronicles, which showcases historical artifacts and other materials gathered in the anniversary efforts. The display was featured in the Moscone North building during last week s meeting, but will be permanently located in the lobby of the AAOS headquarters in suburban Chicago.

Also noted last week was the first anniversary of the AAOS group purchasing program, which was introduced at the 2007 annual meeting.

Called Esurg, the program gives academy members a single source for purchasing more than 16,500 medical and surgical products, 3,200 pharmaceutical products and 25,000 office products. More than 300 orthopedic practices have requested a customized savings analysis from Esurg and that average savings exceeded 15%. During the August-October quarter, some 270 orthopedic offices placed orders through the program.

The BONES Society (Rosemont, Illinois), an organization focused on orthopedic practice management, has changed its name to better reflect that purpose. It now is known as the American Association of Orthopaedic Executives (AAOE), with that name highlighted in the group s booth in the Moscone Convention Center South.

AAOE President David Demchuck, CEO of Front Range Orthopedic Center Longmont, Colorado), said the organization s board of directors felt it was time to adjust the association s image to reflect more accurately the professional sophistication of our members. Our new name and brand . . . [showcase] our energy and industry leadership.

In product news from the meeting:

The Orthopaedic Reconstruction business of Smith & Nephew (S&N; Memphis, Tennessee) reported the introduction of its Verilast technology. Verilast technology represents a technological leap forward in implant performance for knee replacement surgery. It is an optimized material combination engineered to improve knee implant performance and durability.

S&N said the new technology combines its Oxinium material with highly cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) to produce what it characterized as a one-of-a-kind total knee replacement device.

Joseph DeVivo, president of Orthopaedic Reconstruction, said, Initial data on implant wear compared to competitive systems has been very encouraging. Due to the significant improvements we are observing in wear rates over competitive material combinations, a knee with Verilast technology may be the only implant many patients ever receive.

S&N said its researchers demonstrated in lab testing that the composition of both articulating surfaces is critical to the performance of the entire bearing couple. It said that when XLPE is combined with Oxinium alloy, significant improvements in wear resistance are both provided and maintained.

Carestream Health (Rochester, New York) launched a new miniPACS platform designed for orthopedic practices and displayed the advanced orthopedic capabilities of its fully featured Kodak Carestream PACS.

The MX-Orthopedic miniPACS platform, which is now available in the U.S. and Canada, is offered as a web-server configuration along with concurrent access user licenses.

Carestream also introduced a new tabletop laser imaging system, the Kodak Dryview 5800, that prints laser-sharp grayscale images with the same technology used in the company s high-volume Kodak Dryview Laser Imager Systems.

The tabletop imager is designed for radiology departments, imaging centers and small clinics, and dedicated modality printing.