Ethicon Products announced that Dermabond Topical Skin Adhesive (2-octyl cyanoacrylate) can act as a barrier against bacterial microbes. The microbial barrier provided by Dermabond Adhesive seals out the most common infection-causing bacteria, including certain Staph, Pseudomonas and E.coli.

Dermabond adhesive is a liquid topical skin adhesive that can be used to close surgical incisions and traumatic lacerations without stitches or staples. Dermabond acts as a barrier to microbial penetration as long as the adhesive film remains intact, according to new labeling approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"For trauma and post-surgical patients, infections are often the most common, and in some cases, the most serious complications," said Ronald Lee Nichols, the William Henderson Professor of Surgery, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology affiliated with Tulane University, New Orleans. "Doctors are looking for ways to help people heal more comfortably and completely, and the bacteria-blocking properties of Dermabond Adhesive clearly may assist the recovery of their patients."

In in vitro studies, Dermabond Adhesive was 99 per cent effective in protecting against the following bacteria: Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecium. Product labeling has been changed to include information about its ability to act as a microbial barrier.

Dermabond Adhesive is a liquid applied topically to the easily approximated edges of a laceration or incision - skin edges that can be placed directly against each other. It can be used in conjunction with, but not in place of, subcuticular sutures. When closing a wound, the physician first cleans the laceration or incision, then holds its edges together and applies the adhesive to the skin using a light, brushing stroke, repeating this three times. In less than three minutes, Dermabond Adhesive provides the strength of healed tissue at seven days. The product also provides a moist wound-healing environment, which promotes quicker and more complete healing. Dermabond Adhesive naturally sloughs off the skin in five to ten days.

Approved by the FDA in 1998, Dermabond Adhesive has been used extensively by health professionals in the fields of trauma, plastic and other surgeries, emergency medicine, and pediatrics. Since its approval, Dermabond Adhesive has proven useful in closing surgical incisions where suture removal can cause significant discomfort. The adhesive does not produce suture or "track" marks along the healed incision and unlike stitches, a patient can shower right away without fear of compromising the incision.