The use of Surgihoney to prevent or eradicate bacterial colonisation in dressing oncology long vascular lines

Abstract

Surgihoney supplies were donated by Healing Honey International (HHI) who also provided some funding to Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust for microbiological investigation. MD and JC have provided clinical advice in an advisory capacity to HHI.

Advanced Therapeutic Dressings for Effective Wound Healing—A Review

“…Surgihoney® is a licensed sterile product based on natural, organic honey from a variety of sources, which has been developed for wound care and as a prophylactic dressing for wounds. The antimicrobial activities mediated by hydrogen peroxide make Surgihoney® active against both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacterial at very low concentration …”

“…The antimicrobial activities mediated by hydrogen peroxide 279 make Surgihoney R active against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial at very low concentration. 280 Because of their natural origin and the high purity, honey dressings have few contraindications; however, they should be avoided in patients with a known history of allergy to either honey or bee venom. It was also reported that patients with diabetes should have their blood sugar monitored as they may be at higher risk of hyperglycemia because of the high sugar content of honey.…”

Use of an engineered honey to eradicate preformed biofilms of important wound pathogens: an in vitro study

“…Although durations of treatment varied (from 9 days for central catheter site infections to 374.3 days for 'other topical infections'), 24 wounds (21%) healed, and the remaining 90 (79%) improved following application of SHRO. These authors have also shown that SHRO can reduce bacterial colonisation in long lines in oncology patients, 17 and reduce rates of surgical site infections in patients undergoing caesarean section surgery. 18 However, the clinical findings published to date on SHRO represent a series of case reports, which although demonstrate favourable outcomes, must be interpreted with caution.…”

A call for action to the biomaterial community to tackle antimicrobial resistance

“…214 The antimicrobial effect of SHRO has also been demonstrated with clinical tests highlights its ability to prevent and treat SSIs as well as Hickman and Vascular line infections without the need for antibiotic administration. 215,216 As aforementioned, SHRO is an engineered honey, allowing the potency to be tailored as required. This 'dialling' enabled SHRO to be modified such that it outperformed other medical grade honeys, including Activon and Medihoney, and two of the most commonly used antimicrobials dressings, silver and iodine.…”