Treatment of diabetic foot wounds with cold plasma plaster.

Plasma medicine is an innovative field of research with a high potential but with little clinical evidence to its support. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) devices generate an ionized gas with a cocktail of highly reactive species and UV light. They can be used for application on living tissue because these operate at normal ambient air pressure and temperature¹²³. CAP treatment has advantages over antiseptic or antimicrobial infection prevention and control, e.g. efficient, painless, instant disinfection without chance of developing antimicrobial resistance, but with stimulation of fibroblast proliferation and migration contributing to wound healing. Current evidence for CAP consists of in-vitro studies, animal studies, and studies in patient groups such as those with burn wounds. Our novel type of CAP device⁴ is simple to use and can be applied by a podiatrist and even at a patient’s home. This is a pilot study to safety and efficacy of the technology.

We hypothesise that CAP is a safe treatment that reduces bacterial load on the wound surface and promotes wound healing.

1-7-2015 inclusion patients 1-10.

1-11-2015 intermediate evaluation.

1-12-2015 inclusion patients 11-20.

1-4-2016 evaluation.

20 patients with foot ulcers will be treated on an outpatient basis with daily CAP for 10 days in 2 weeks. Bacterial load will be measured by culture and molecular technique of deep tissue swab at days 1, 7 and 14, and directly before and after CAP application. Standard protocols for wound treatment will be deployed, including proper offloading.