Current State and Future Perspectives of the Use of Cold Plasma in Patients with Complicated Wounds.

Abstract

We report our experience in patients who were treated with cold plasma wound therapy from 2016 to 2020. Thirty-six patients with a median age of 71 years (23 males, 13 females) were registered in a prospective database. The median follow up was six months. In 15 patients, their wounds were associated with peripheral arterial disease, and they received peripheral interventional or open revascularisation prior to cold plasma therapy. Seven patients had a chronic venous insufficiency and 3 diabetic patients had chronic wounds caused by polyneuropathy. One patient suffered from chronic lymphoid disease. The cause of the wound could not be identified in the remaining patients. Wound treatment was conducted in an outpatient setting, if possible. Four patients were lost during follow-up. Surgical debridement of the wound before cold plasma therapy began was necessary in 14 cases. Each patient received 1 to 3 cold plasma treatments a week; 2 patients were treated for 1 year and the remaining patients were treated for 4 to 11 weeks. There were no major amputations in the long-term follow-up. In 25 patients, the progress of the wound stopped and in 11 patients the wounds were closed at the end of the therapy. In conclusion, our results support the use of cold plasma in complex wounds. Causal therapy is mandatory. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the impact of supplemental modern wound treatment with cold plasma therapy.