Application of cold atmospheric microwave plasma as an adjunct therapy for wound healing in dogs and cats

Ozone water has antibacterial properties in dogs without skin barrier impairment

BACKGROUND

Recently, the use of disinfectants to treat bacterial skin diseases in dogs has garnered attention from the perspective of preventing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Ozone water is a disinfectant that combines high antibacterial efficacy and safety; however, there have been no reports verifying its effects on skin barrier function in dogs.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to verify the antibacterial properties and effects of ozone water on skin barrier function in dogs.

ANIMALS

Four beagles for the antibacterial test and six beagles for the barrier function test.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Purified water, 3 mg/L ozone water and 0.005% and 0.05% sodium hypochlorite were used as test products. Skin bacteria were collected 5 min after a single application of each and cultured to measure the bacterial counts. Trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin surface hydration (SSH) were measured before and after application once a day for 2 weeks. Additionally, the proliferation of canine epidermal keratinocytes (CPEK) was examined after a 5-min incubation with the test products.

RESULTS

Ozone water and 0.05% sodium hypochlorite significantly reduced the number of skin bacteria. None of the test products worsened TEWL and SSH values. Sodium hypochlorite completely inhibited the proliferation of CPEK, while ozone water did not.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Ozone water has an antibacterial effect on canine skin comparable to that of 0.05% sodium hypochlorite, but does not inhibit keratinocyte proliferation in vitro. Thus, ozone water has the potential to be used as a safe and effective disinfectant for canine skin.

Non-invasive physical plasma improves conventional wound management of cut and bite wounds in wild European hedgehogs

Non-invasive physical plasma (NIPP) has been used effectively for wound healing in human medicine for over two decades. The advantages are that NIPP has few side effects, is painless and gentle on the tissue. The therapeutic effect is mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Based on the biomedical effects known to date, it can be assumed that NIPP can also be used for wound treatment in non-human mammals. In this prospective, non-randomized monocentric clinical trial, 43 European hedgehogs with cut and bite wounds were treated with conventional wound management (CWM: 21 patients) and compared with 22 patients with CWM plus NIPP treatment (CWM + NIPP). Under NIPP treatment, patients showed no signs of pain, stress or discomfort, even after several applications. In 76% of CWM + NIPP patients, three or four NIPP applications were sufficient. In patients in the CWM + NIPP group, wound treatment was completed statistically significantly 6 d earlier (CWM: 19.0 d versus CWM + NIPP: 13.2 d; p = 0.0008). This wildlife clinical trial demonstrates that NIPP can be used to improve wound healing in wild European hedgehogs. It is conceivable that NIPP therapy could also lead to positive effects in other injured wild animals, domestic animals or livestock.

[Mechanism of cold atmospheric plasma in treatment of chronic skin ulcer]

Objective

To review the mechanism of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) in the treatment of chronic skin ulcer, providing a new idea for ulcer therapy.

Methods

The literature about CAP in the treatment of chronic skin ulcers in recent years was extensively screened and reviewed. The treatment principle, active ingredients, and mechanism were summarized.

Results

CAP is partial ionized gas discharged by plasma generator in high frequency under high voltage. It contains electrons, positive and negative ions, reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species, and ultraviolet rays. In vitro and animal experiments show that the active ingredients contained in CAP can inactive microorganisms, against biofilm, regulate immune-mediated inflammatory, promoting blood flow, stimulate tissue regeneration and epithelial formation in the course of wounds healing.

Conclusion

CAP play a role in different stages of chronic skin ulcer healing, with good effectiveness and safety, and broad clinical application prospects. But more studies are needed to explore the indications and dosages of CAP therapy.

Harnessing Non-Thermal Plasma to Supercharge Recovery in Abdominal Surgeries: A Pilot Study

(1) Background: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of non-thermal plasma (NTP) therapy in accelerating wound healing in patients who have undergone laparoscopic and open surgeries. (2) Methods: NTP was applied using a needle-type reactor with an irradiance of 0.5 W/cm2 on the surgical wounds of fifty patients after obtaining informed consent. Three NTP treatments, each lasting three minutes, were administered hourly. (3) Results: The pilot study showed that NTP-treated surgical wounds healed completely without any signs of infection, dehiscence, pain, or itching. Notably, patients reported minimal pain after the NTP treatment. Visual assessments conducted twenty-four hours after surgery revealed no redness or fluid discharge. Comparisons with traditionally sutured wounds indicated that NTP-treated wounds healed at a rate equivalent to seven days. (4) Conclusions: The application of NTP in laparoscopic and open wounds proved safe and effective, expediting the wound healing process and eliminating clinical risks post-surgery. Significantly, NTP facilitated a healing rate within twenty-four hours, equivalent to seven days for suture-treated wounds, significantly reducing the hospitalization time to a single day. These findings highlight the potential of NTP to be a transformative approach for promoting postoperative recovery.