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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 your device in the Medtronic TYRX.

Khaldoun G. Tarakji, Suneet Mittal, Charles Kennergren, etal . Antibacterial Envelope to Prevent Cardiac Implantable Device Infection. New England Journal of Medicine, 2019; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1901111

https://www.medtronic.com/us-en/healthcare-professionals/products/cardiac-rhythm/infection-control/tyrx-antibacterial-envelope.html

#pacemaker #defibrillator #antibacterial #mesh #envelope