FORT WORTH, TX — (MARKET WIRE) — 06/16/2005 — An Alcohol-based, Zinc Pyrithione (ZPT)-preserved product can provide the strategic defense needed to assist in reducing the number of post-surgery biofilm infections that proliferate in hospitals across the United States, according to research findings published as an abstract and presented at the international meeting of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) conference in Baltimore, MD, June 19-23.
When bacteria gather and attach to damaged tissue or an inanimate surface — such as medical implants like prosthetic joint replacements or catheters — resulting biofilm infections are from 500 to 1,500 times more resistant to standard antibiotic therapy than so-called free-floating, planktonic bacterial infections.
Fortunately for doctors, patients, and the healthcare industry, these inherently difficult-to-treat multilayered communities of bacteria are now being successfully challenged by a new, preventative topical antimicrobial protocol for biofilms, making it much harder for them to do their damage.
The preventative protocol, a technology developed and marketed by HEALTHPOINT, Ltd., a DFB company, is represented by a group of products based on the topical antimicrobial Alcohol, preserved with ZPT. Prevention is key, especially when dealing with such resistant infections.
The independent study, Surgical Preps and Biofilms, reviewed vascular catheterization, a medical procedure performed 20 million times each year in the United States to see how the Alcohol-based, ZPT-preserved formula can prevent the formation of biofilm infections. In the past, nearly all vascular catheterizations became infected with biofilms frequently caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus epidermidis, commonly known as a Staph infection.
Researchers Daryl Paulson, PhD of BioScience Laboratories, Inc. and Lawton Seal, PhD of HEALTHPOINT compared the use of HEALTHPOINT’s Alcohol-based, ZPT-preserved product, ACTIPREP, against both the biofilm and planktonic forms of Staphylococcus.
“The Alcohol-based, ZPT-preserved formula achieved a 50 percent reduction of the biofilm within 15 seconds and a complete kill of the biofilm-protected bacteria in two minutes or less,” reports Dr. Seal. “The Alcohol-based, ZPT-preserved formula achieved a complete kill of the planktonic bacteria within 15 seconds.”
According to the doctors’ research findings, applying an Alcohol-based, ZPT-preserved topical antimicrobial to a site two minutes prior to a medical procedure will not only kill both planktonic and biofilm Staphylococcus epidermidis already present on the skin, but it will also prevent the rebound of skin colonization, which further protects the patient. Such persistent, preventative killing-power is known as cumulative effect, a major benefit of ZPT.
“The findings are very encouraging,” said Steve Owens, Director of Marketing HEALTHPOINT Surgical. “This reconfirms previous studies that have proved the persistence and effectiveness of Alcohol-based, ZPT-preserved products. We are pleased to offer a way for doctors and their staffs to reduce these surgical site biofilm infections.”
The Alcohol-based formulation preserved with ZPT is the basis of HEALTHPOINT’s patented Trizenol™ technology used in the company’s preoperative patient skin preparation system products included in the study. The product line includes TRISEPTIN Hand and Body Antiseptic and ACTIPREP One-Step Preoperative Prep. The technology has proved effective for healthcare professionals preparing both their patients and themselves for hundreds of thousands of surgical procedures performed every week. ACTIPREP is used by staff in the operating room to prepare the patient’s surgical site.
The product line is also utilized extensively across the United States.
HEALTHPOINT will have more information about the study and Actiprep during APIC at booth number 624.
Since its inception in 1992, HEALTHPOINT has established a U.S. presence in the research, development, and marketing of branded pharmaceuticals, over the counter drugs, and medical devices for surgical, dermatology, and tissue management indications. An aggressive research and development effort has brought HEALTHPOINT’s unique technologies to the market, setting the pace for its highly trained field sales organization of direct sales representatives. HEALTHPOINT, with over 300 employees, is a DFB Pharmaceuticals, Inc. affiliate company. HEALTHPOINT is based in Fort Worth, Texas. Visit HEALTHPOINT’s web site at www.healthpoint.com.
Also headquartered in Fort Worth, DFB provides technology-driven products, outsourcing services, and licensing opportunities to the healthcare industry worldwide through its affiliate companies, contract partners, and branded marketing organizations.