[Cold atmospheric pressure plasma for the treatment of acute and chronic wounds]. / Kaltes Atmosphärendruckplasma zur Behandlung akuter und chronischer Wunden.

BACKGROUND: Besides acute wounds (through trauma or surgical interventions), chronic wounds comprise a relatively large and heterogeneous group of diseases. These include leg ulcers with venous disease greatly prevailing arterial disease, diabetic foot syndrome, and pressure ulcers. Due to a considerable treatment resistance against such therapies, new and effective, additive treatment options especially for chronic wounds are needed. Wound treatment with cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) constitutes such an innovative option. OBJECTIVES: Current research regarding the efficacy of cold plasma for healing of acute and chronic wounds is summarized. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The literature on CAP applications in wound healing has been screened and reviewed. RESULTS: With CAP, several effects that promote wound healing can be simultaneously applied in one application. On the one hand, CAP exerts a strong and broad antimicrobial activity against biofilm. On the other hand, the plasma cocktail, which consists of reactive nitrogen and oxygen species, UV, and charged particles (electrical current), mediates tissue-stimulating, blood flow-promoting, and anti-inflammatory effects. Marked germ reduction on wounds and accelerated wound healing have already been convincingly demonstrated in controlled clinical studies. CONCLUSIONS: The comprehensive CAP study landscape with structured case report summaries and randomized case-control studies allows the conclusion that CAP is safe, effective, and easy to handle for wound treatment. The utilization of CAP in addition to standard wound treatments is starting to enter routine clinical practice.

Extended donor criteria have no negative impact on early outcome after liver transplantation: a single-center multivariate analysis.

The organ shortage has driven many transplant centers to accept extended donor criteria and to modify graft allocation policies. This study was designed to analyze the impact of applying extended donor criteria (EDC) in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Between December 2001 and December 2004, we performed 165 primary cadaveric whole OLTs. Up to three EDC, that is, ventilation >7 days; aminotransferases (ALT or AST) >3 x normal; bilirubin >3 mg/dL; anti-HBc or HBs Ag positivity; donor age >65 years; liver steatosis >40%; donor body mass index >30; cold ischemia time >14 hours; peak serum Na(+) >165 mmol/L; history of extrahepatic malignancy; or previous drug abuse were present in 55% of all grafts. Both univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that EDC status had no effect on graft or patient survival, the necessity for retransplantation, the length of intensive care/intermediate care unit stay, mechanical ventilation, complications, or posttransplant laboratory findings. Recipient age of >/=55 years was the only independent prognostic factor for survival, regardless of EDC. These findings suggested that the use of grafts from EDC donors are safe and expand the donor pool.