Treatment of infected wounds with cold atmospheric plasma: a case series

Due to its inactivating effect on bacteria, cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has been shown to be successful in the treatment of hard-to-heal (chronic) and infected wounds. In this case series, 15 patients with a total of 20 wounds were treated with a mobile CAP device and the bacterial load of the wound simultaneously observed using a MolecuLight i:X (MolecuLight Inc., US) camera. In 60% of cases, the bacterial load could be brought under control despite minimal CAP application. This procedure offers the advantage of being able to directly visualise wound bacterial load and, therefore, the inactivation of bacteria is also directly visible. The use of the two devices complemented each other; supporting wound management and analysis of its effectiveness.