Tag: bacteria

CAN WE WOUND BIOFILMS?

These complex 3D structures of bacteria explain many of the challenges clinicians face with wound care, infection and healing. Scientists are fighting back.

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) was the first person to delve into the field of microbiology and document initial observations of bacteria. After this preliminary discovery, microbiology was not actively studied again until the 1800s, when it began to gain a foothold in contemporary medicine. Fast-forward to today’s labs, where clinicians are becoming more knowledgeable in the bacteriology of wound healing, and researchers are identifying new ways to overcome long-standing challenges in wound healing, such as biofilms.

Biofilm is a term used to describe a colony of microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi or yeast, encased by an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). The EPS forms a shield, often causing the bacteria to be … read more

Controlling Bacterial Burden in Chronic Wounds

Bioburden in chronic wounds can be a principal contributor to inflammation, clinical wound infection, and further delayed wound healing. Clinically diagnosing infection in chronic wounds can be problematic because most individuals susceptible to developing chronic wounds are subject to physiological states that often blunt typical infectious responses in various ways.¹ These responses include pain, erythema, febrile state, leukocytosis, edema and increased wound exudate, wound odor, etc. For example, a patient with a neuropathic ulcer and diabetes mellitus may not report pain or fever or present with leukocytosis but will have increased edema and wound exudate. A patient with an ischemic ulcer of peripheral arterial disease may report pain, erythema, fever, and leukocytosis but not have perfusion sufficient to produce edema or increased wound exudate.¹ It is imperative to understand how to concurrently manage factors that can contribute to infection, as well as assess for symptoms and implement interventions to prevent infection … read more

Combating Biofilms In The Chronic Wound

Given the complexity of biofilm in lower extremity wounds, these authors offer a closer look on how biofilm develops, keys to eradicating biofilm and emerging modalities that may have an impact in the future.

We all encounter biofilms on a regular basis in our practices. A biofilm is a complex polymicrobal community of bacteria and fungi that develops on foreign materials, necrotic debris, exposed bone, and within the bed of chronic wounds. When James and colleagues examined the biopsies of 50 chronic wound beds, 60 percent contained a biofilm.

Planktonic or free-floating bacteria are more aggressive and divide more rapidly. Changes in gene expression allow them to secrete hydrolase enzymes and exotoxins, resulting in more rapid local tissue invasion. As a bacterial colony develops, environmental stimuli induce the cells to engage in quorum sensing, a gradient-based recruitment strategy used to summon additional bacteria to the developing biofilm and alter the phenotypic expression of bacteria within the community. Free-floating planktonic bacteria adhere to the wound bed using very weak molecular interactions … read more

Plasma Treatment Continues to Evolve in Wound Healing

The German company COLDPLASMATECH specializes in using plasma to treat wounds. Plasma is the fourth state of matter, one substantially less common than gas, liquid or solid. While plasma has been in use in the health care industry for some time, it continues to improve as a possible treatment for wound victims.

According to Medical Xpress, COLDPLASMATECH utilizes cold plasma, similar to the kind found in lightning, to treat wounds. Early tests found the material to be tissue tolerable and its temperature allows for physicians to better work with its bioactivity.

Cold plasma treatment represents another step forward in plasma being effectively used to treat wounds.

Plasma as a wound treatment
In a study that was published in Clinical Plasma Medicine, experts outlined the difficulty in comparing plasma tests. The problem comes in the various sources for plasma as each produces different biological and physical properties. Nevertheless, medical researchers have been compiling data for years, earning an understanding of each plasma and its effectiveness in wound treatment.

Part of the drive for pushing plasma research forward is its potential to accelerate the healing process. St. George News highlighted how platelet-rich plasma has been used in healing therapy over the last several decades. However, technological improvements have heightened plasma’s effectiveness, enabling it to be a faster-acting wound treatment … read more