Cath Lab Digest

Ron Najafi of NovaBay Pharmaceuticals

OWM: Please describe your education, training, and work experiences that have prepared you for your current position as CEO of NovaBay Inc.
  As a young man, I worked as a pharmaceutical sales rep for my father’s company in Tehran, Iran. I always enjoyed interacting with healthcare professionals and found providing patients with medications that would have a positive impact on their quality of life very rewarding. Over time, I grew more interested in the mechanism of action of drugs and their power to cure, such as with antibiotics, or to treat diseases like diabetes. After arriving in the United States, I spent years studying chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and University of San Francisco, and ultimately I received my PhD in synthetic organic chemistry at UC Davis.

  Post graduation, I was eager to invest my knowledge in the field of pharmaceutical drug development. I gained valuable experience working at Sigma Aldrich (St. Louis, MO), Sanofi Aventis (Bridgewater, NJ), and Applied Biosystems (Carlsbad, CA). My early years working at my father’s pharmaceutical company and later for Sanofi Aventis prepared me for a career in healthcare and specifically the pharmaceutical industry. My experience in drug development combined with my entrepreneurial spirit led to my founding of NovaBay Pharmaceuticals in 2000.

Skin Tears … Are They Really That Simple?

  Who is most at risk for having a skin tear? We know that the elderly are at risk because the rete ridges (epidermal junction), which help secure the epidermis and dermis layer together, start to flatten, allowing the epidermis to separate and causing a skin tear. Other patients at risk for skin tears include persons who are bed- or chair-bound or otherwise unable to change positions themselves; persons with inadequate nutrition or hydration intake; persons experiencing certain disease processes; and persons taking numerous medications.

Micro-contouring in Clinical Practice: the Impact on Infection

Dr. Greco is a dermatologist and Chief of the Centre of Specialization for Treatment and Prevention of Cutaneous Ulcers, Frosinone ASL, Italy; email: firstauthor-greco@yahoo.com.

  One of the key challenges in wound management is infection prevention. This can be achieved through control of the superficial bioburden — ie, wound microbial colonization. One consideration in infection prevention is that antimicrobial effectiveness may be a factor of the different physical properties of dressings.¹ The ability of a dressing to conform to the wound surface appears to be a factor in the prevention of wound infection as a result of the antimicrobial protection provided at the wound-dressing interface.² However, the choice of the optimal dressing for skin ulcers, diabetic lesions, or surgical wounds remains controversial.³

What Lies Beneath the Surface…

  Clinicians who specialize in wound care may be encountering an invisible army of chemicals that may contribute to the already challenging micro-environment of wound care. The most recent and seemingly little-recognized factor is the surface on which the patient is placed, the single contact point to which the wound and caregiver are routinely exposed. Although many studies have reviewed the efficacy of surface therapies such as low air loss and more, few consider the content of the surface fabric and what chemicals may be emitted through micro-abrasion or prolonged exposure.