Efficacy of Antimicrobial Silver‐Plated Dressings Compared to Usual Care in Preventing Left Ventricular Assist Device Driveline Infections
Barbara Veiter, Martina Socha, Christiane Marko, Nesibe Seyda Colak, Alexandra Kuhn, Hebe Al Asadi, Julia Riebandt, Roxana Moayedifar, Daniel Zimpfer, Thomas SchlöglhoferABSTRACT
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/m 2 ). 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.