Antifungal Properties of a Hydrocolloid Adhesive Border Post-operative Dressing with Ionic Silver against Candida auris

Abstract Body: Candida auris (C. auris) is a recently emerged, multidrug-resistant, highly invasive, and hospital-acquired fungal pathogen. With a high incidence of severe infection and death, worldwide efforts are in motion to advance infection control and prevention strategies and design effective treatment strategies. Since Candida spp. members are the most frequently isolated yeasts from polymicrobial chronic wounds, the goal of this study was to determine the anti-fungal effectiveness of postoperative dressing containing ionic silver.* Following AATCC Test Method 100 (2012) and general laboratory practice with aseptic conditions guidelines, a wound dressing containing ionic silver* and a control dressing with no active ingredient# were independently challenged with C. auris (CDC AR Bank #390) in simulated wound fluid. Time-point zero (T=0) samples were immediately neutralized and enumerated. The remaining samples were placed in a 35-39°C / ≥70% relative humidity chamber and neutralized and enumerated at 2 hours or at 24 hours. Antifungal effectiveness was determined by comparing the microbial bioburden of the silver-impregnated dressing* to that of a control dressing with no active ingredient#.  We observed a 2.55 ± 0.11 Log10 reduction at 2 hours and a 4.63 ± 0.09 Log10 reduction at 24 hours. This study demonstrates that the dressing containing ionic silver was effective at eliminating more than 99.0% of C. auris by 2 hours and 99.99% by 24 hours in an in vitro simulated wound fluid environment.