New Products and Industry News

Consumer advocacy support building for incontinence patients

   Following a historic first meeting in Houston, a group of consumer advocates organized by the National Association For Continence (NAFC) plans to continue working to build awareness and support for more than 25 million Americans who suffer from incontinence.

   The October 5 meeting included representatives from the American Urological Association (AUA), the Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR), the Association for Women's Health in Obstetrics and Neonatal Nursing (AWHONN) and the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN).

   Nancy Muller, executive director of the South Carolina-based NAFC, says future meetings of the group will focus on the need for governmental agencies to devote attention to research, education in public and medical corridors, and funding across the board in order to adequately address those affected. Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, after seeing the strong show of support at the meeting, said she would return to Washington armed with knowledge to awaken lawmakers to the problems encountered by patients with incontinence. Educators and researchers voiced their willingness to carry the message to their spheres of influence.

   As part of this meeting, Margot Langstaff, a long-term sufferer of incontinence and related conditions, was named NAFC's national patient advocate and consumer spokesperson on bladder health.
In addition to the workshop, the October event included the first-ever educational gathering with the discussion topic: "A Women's Forum: Lifelong Pelvic and Bladder Health," featuring a guest appearance by stage and screen star Debbie Reynolds. The event was sponsored by more than a dozen companies, including pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers.

   For more information about the NAFC and to view photos from the recent Women's Forum in Houston, log on to www.nafc.org or call 1-800-BLADDER.

MEDIQ to be Barton Medical's distributor

    MEDIQ/PRN Life Support Services, Inc. (Pennsauken, NJ), a moveable critical care and life support equipment rental business, reached an agreement with Barton Medical Corporation (Austin, Tex.), manufacturer of products for nonambulatory patients, to be the exclusive distributor of Barton's patient transfer products. Barton manufactures a variety of convertible mobility chairs that provide a "no lift" solution for patient transfer from bed to chair. This agreement will allow MEDIQ to supply Barton products to acute and long-term care facilities and home care durable medical equipment providers and afford customers flexible financing options through rental and leasing programs.

   For more information visit www.mediq.net or www.bartonmedical.com.

New intermittent catheter reduces risks

   Rochester Medical Corporation (Stewartville, Minn.) introduced the Antibacterial Personal Catheter®. The product features a proprietary silicone composition with an antibacterial agent (nitrofurazone) matrixed into the catheter's outer layer for release directly into the urethra. Designed for comfortable easy insertion, the product minimizes trauma to urethral tissues. A seamless, tapered tip and four, comfort-sized drainage eyes also help the catheter move smoothly over sensitive urethral tissues. The all-silicone construction eliminates allergen, toxin, or disposal concerns associated with latex and PVC catheters.

   The catheter is available in male (16") and female (6") lengths in diameters ranging from 12 French to 18 French. The advanced catheter is also available in a unisex 14 French pre-connected urethral tray. The latex-free closed system drainage configuration provides added features, such as drain port to eliminate urine spillage, along with standard insertion supplies. Ideal for adult patients who are at risk from typical complications associated with intermittent catheterization, such as urinary tract infections and urethral trauma, the product is covered by most state Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance companies.

   For information, call (800) 243-3315 or email info@rocm.com.

New vacuum-assisted closure product introduced

   Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (KCI, San Antonio, Tex.) has a new model of its vacuum-assisted closure device™, the V.A.C.®^Freedom™. Approximately 3.5 lb, it can be worn in a discreet carrying case over the shoulder or around the waist, enabling patients to return to work and daily activities. It also features an on-screen help guide for users and a 300-mL canister to allow for fewer changes.

   The new system utilizes KCI's patented T.R.A.C.™ (Therapeutic Regulated Accurate Care) technology that monitors and maintains pressure at the wound site with smart alarms to further enhance patient safety. The new T.R.A.C.™ pad allows for efficient dressing changes.

   The new system is the company's second product launch this year. The V.A.C.®ATS (Advanced Therapy System) was introduced last summer.

   For more information, visit www.woundvac.com.

Dressing marks two decades of wound care

   3M (St. Paul, Minn.) is marking the 20th anniversary of its Tegaderm Transparent Dressing by introducing two new dressings: #1610, a pediatric IV dressing, and #1655, a universal central catheter site dressing.
The brainchild of 3M product development engineer Steve Heinecke, the dressing was created to accommodate the research that wounds kept in a moist environment heal faster. Consisting of an adhesive-coated dressing with a thin, flexible, polyurethane backing coated with a hypoallergenic acrylate adhesive and applied with a frame delivery, the skin-like sterile dressing is impenetrable to water and bacteria; permeable to moisture, vapor, and oxygen; and transparent and easy to deliver.

   The company continues to work with nurses and professional organizations to extend the dressing's format and clinical use. The dressings are available in 17 different styles, shapes, and sizes for IV catheter care, wound management, and skin protection.

   For more information, call (800) 228-3957 or visit www.3M.com/skinhealth.

Nutritional supplement available in new compliance-friendly size

   Bio-Technology General Corp. (Iselin, NJ) announced the availability of the new 10-mg strength of Oxandrin® (oxandrolone) for the treatment for involuntary weight loss (IWL). Involuntary weight loss is associated with numerous conditions such as pressure ulcers, nonhealing wounds, spinal cord injury, burns, and trauma. The anabolic agent can now be given with one 10-mg tablet, twice daily for those patients taking 20 mg a day, the most common dosage. The new strength can improve patient compliance, a key challenge in the treatment of IWL.

   Involuntary weight loss, or cachexia, is a state of physical malnutrition that results in the loss of lean body weight associated with various conditions. Oxandrolone has been shown to increase protein synthesis, the metabolic process that results in lean body mass. It is the only oral anabolic agent approved by the FDA as adjunctive therapy to promote weight gain after weight loss following extensive surgery, chronic infections, or severe trauma, and in some patients who without definite pathophysiologic reasons fail to gain or to maintain normal weight. It offsets the protein catabolism associated with prolonged administration of corticosteroids and relieves the bone pain frequently accompanying osteoporosis. The product will now be available in both 2.5-mg and 10-mg strengths.

   Additional information is available at www.oxandrin.com.