Protective cover, methods of making and using a protective cover and kits having a protective cover

Abstract

A protective cover for an affected area of a patient, particularly associated with an insertion site of a catheter or other puncture or opening in a patient's skin, comprising a body portion including an aperture, and a window portion, wherein the body portion and window portion each optionally comprises an antimicrobial composition. Aspects of the present invention provide articles, systems and kits for covering an incision, wound or catheter insertion site with a protective cover, and methods of using and making the protective cover.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A protective cover for an affected area of a subject, comprising:
 a body portion comprising an aperture, the body portion comprising a cotton or equivalent material; and   a window portion wherein the body portion and window portion each optionally comprises an antimicrobial composition.   
     
     
         2 . The protective cover of  claim 1 , wherein the body portion is formed from a material having an approximately trapezoidal shape prior to assembly or application to the subject. 
     
     
         3 . The protective cover of  claim 1 , wherein the body portion has at least a partial tubular configuration when worn by the subject. 
     
     
         4 . The protective cover of  claim 3 , wherein an inner diameter of the tubular configuration of the protective cover is about 1 to 8 inches. 
     
     
         5 . The protective cover of  claim 1 , wherein the body portion has a length when worn of about 4 to about 10 inches. 
     
     
         6 . The protective cover of  claim 1 , wherein the dimensions of the aperture are about 2.5 to 4.0 inch by about 2.25 to 3.5 inch. 
     
     
         7 . The protective cover of  claim 1 , wherein the aperture has an approximately circular shape with a diameter of about 2.25 to 3.5 inch. 
     
     
         8 . The protective cover of  claim 1 , wherein the aperture has a rectangular shape having at least two sides of about 2 to 4.0 inch. 
     
     
         9 . The protective cover of  claim 1 , wherein the protective cover is machine-washable and dryable. 
     
     
         10 . The protective cover of  claim 1 , wherein the window portion comprises a mesh material. 
     
     
         11 . The protective cover of  claim 10 , wherein the mesh material is porous, having pores from about 0.05 mm to 4.0 mm in diameter. 
     
     
         12 . The protective cover of  claim 10 , wherein the mesh material is breathable. 
     
     
         13 . The protective cover of  claim 1 , wherein the protective cover has at least a portion of an approximately tubular shape when positioned over an affected area on an arm or a leg of the subject. 
     
     
         14 . The protective cover of  claim 1 , wherein the affected area is an insertion site of a catheter. 
     
     
         15 . The protective cover of  claim 14 , wherein the catheter is a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC). 
     
     
         16 . A method of forming a protective cover for a catheter insertion site, the method comprising:
 providing a body portion, the body portion having an approximately trapezoidal outer shape prior to being worn or fully assembled, with at least two side edges and two end body edges, and an aperture positioned generally centrally between the two end body edges,   attaching a window portion to the body portion to the body portion so as to cover at least a portion of the aperture,   attaching the at least two side edges of the body portion to one another at least at or near each of the two end body edges, so as to form at last a partial tubular shape.   
     
     
         17 . A kit for covering a catheter insertion site, comprising:
 a protective cover, including:
 a body portion comprising; and 
 a window portion comprising, 
 wherein the body portion and the window portion are optionally treated with an antimicrobial composition, and 
 packaging for protectively surrounding the protective cover. 
   
     
     
         18 . The kit of  claim 17 , wherein the packaging comprises a material selected from a group consisting of polycarbonate and cardboard. 
     
     
         19 . A method of using a kit for covering an affected area of a subject, the kit comprising:
 a protective cover, comprising:
 a body portion; and 
 a window portion comprising, 
 wherein the body portion and window portion are optionally treated with an antimicrobial composition, and 
 packaging for protectively holding the protective cover, the method comprising: 
 providing the protective cover to a subject having an affected area of a body part; and 
 covering the affected area with the protective covering. 
   
     
     
         20 . The protective cover of  claim 1 , wherein the body portion comprises an elastic material and minimum of about 25% cotton. 
     
     
         21 . The kit according to  claim 17 , wherein the body portion comprises an elastic material and a minimum of about 25% cotton. 
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 19 , wherein the body portion comprises an elastic material and a minimum of about 25% cotton.