Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast: ttps://youtu.be/S2QmyRj51jM Wrapping a new pacemaker in an absorbable, antibiotic-soaked mesh before implantation can prevent a nasty infection later.  Cardiologists at Cleveland Clinic conducted and recently published the results of an international, multi-center study of the FDA approved Medtronic TYRX  (TRIKES) Absorbable Antibacterial Envelope. The trial enrolled nearly 7,000 patients in 25 countries each receiving a pacemaker or a defibrillator.  Half of the subjects received the antibiotic wrapper in addition to the standard prophylactic oral antibiotics.   The mesh wrappers, constructed to release the two antibiotics minocycline and rifampin over about a week, reduced the incidence of infection by 40%.  This included not only pocket infections occurring around the devices but also the incidence of endocarditis, a nasty infection of the heart’s internal lining. If you or someone your know are a candidate for an implantable pacemaker or defibrillator, ask the cardiologist about gift wrapping you