Cold plasma inactivation of chronic wound bacteria.

Cold plasma is partly ionized non-thermal plasma generated at atmospheric pressure. It has been recognized as an alternative approach in medicine for sterilization of wounds, promotion of wound healing, topical treatment of skin diseases with microbial involvement and treatment of cancer. Cold plasma used in wound therapy inhibits microbes in chronic wound due to its antiseptic effects, while promoting healing by stimulation of cell proliferation and migration of wound relating skin cells. In this study, two types of plasma systems are employed to generate cold plasma: a parallel plate dielectric barrier discharge and a capillary-guided corona discharge. Parameters such as applied voltage, discharge frequency, treatment time and the flow of the carrier gas influence the cold plasma chemistry and therefore change the composition and concentration of plasma species that react with the target sample. Chronic wound that fails to heal often infected by multidrug resistant organisms makes them recalcitrant to healing. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) are two common bacteria in infected and clinically non-infected wounds. The efficacies of the cold plasma generated by the two designs on the inactivation of three different isolates of MRSA and four isolates of P. aeruginosa are reported here.

Lack of effect of prednisone administration on bleeding time and platelet function of normal subjects.

The effect of 80 mg prednisone given orally for 2 d on normal and post-aspirin bleeding times and platelet function has been studied in a randomized, multiple cross-over, double-blind controlled trial in 12 normal volunteers. Mean template bleeding times were 6.6 min (placebo/placebo), 5.9 min (prednisone/placebo), 10.0 min (placebo/aspirin) and 8.7 min (prednisone/aspirin). The shortening after prednisone administration was not statistically significant. Prednisone had no effect on platelet glass bead retention nor on platelet aggregation by collagen, adrenalin and adenosine diphosphate. Thus conventional clinical doses of prednisone did not impair platelet function and did not enhance primary haemostatis in normal subjects as measured by the bleeding time.

Clinical significance of a high mean corpuscular volume in nonanemic patients.

A prospective study of the clinical significance of macrocytosis (mean corpuscular volume 100 fL or more) was carried out for 9 months in a teaching hospital in 1975. Of the 140 patients with macrocytosis at the time of admission (0l7% of all hospital admissions) 46 (33%) had low activity of serum or erythrocyte folate, or both, and 16 (11%) had low serum vitamin B12 concentrations. Among the 78 patients with normal B12 and folate values the most commonly associated significant clinical conditions were alcoholism or hepatic disease (36 patients), malignant disease or the effects of chemotherapy (25 patients) and chronic obstructive lung disease (10 patients).