Antimicrobial (antibiotic) Resistance – the drugs won’t work !
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant global threat of far-reaching proportions. It is estimated that drug resistant infections contribute to nearly 5 million deaths every year and predicted to increase to over 10 million deaths every year. WHO has declared that AMR is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity.
(The worldwide total deaths from COVID is now just over 6 million and we all know how frightening it was before the vaccine was developed)
AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others. Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”. Without effective antimicrobials, the success of modern medicine in treating infections, including during major surgery and cancer chemotherapy, would be at increased risk. Chronic infections if left untreated could result in tissue damage, amputation, longer stays in hospitals, surgical interventions, or increased possibility of mortality. Patients who are infected with drug-resistant infections are more likely to develop complications and are up to three times more likely to die from the infection. Non-healing wounds in particular, are characterised by complex and mixed bacterial populations, often involving antibiotic-resistant bacteria as well as phenotypically tolerant bacteria in biofilm form. The biofilm factor is clearly of considerable clinical importance: it protects bacteria from antimicrobial agents leading to persistent and difficult to treat chronic infections, and it exacerbates the spread of antibiotic resistance. Surgical Site Infections are also linked to anti-microbial resistance.
SteriPlas cold plasma technology kills bacteria by a physical mode of action and bacteria are therefore unlikely to develop primary or secondary resistance, which we have documented from our clinical studies. SteriPlas cold plasma also kills antibiotic resistant bacteria (e.g. MRSA) and kills bacteria encased in biofilm which are typically up to 1000 times more resistant to antibiotics. SteriPlas has proven clinical efficacy in treating wound infections, diabetic foot infections and surgical site infections in all clinical studies, all with the bonus of no side effects reported.
SteriPlas cold plasma can be used to treat topical infections reserving antibiotics for severe systemic infections.
References
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02724-0/fulltext
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
https://www.who.int/health-topics/antimicrobial-resistance
https://healthfirsteurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/A3A4-48pp-Booklet-Spreads-1.pdf
Bowler, P., Murphy, C. & Wolcott, R. Biofilm exacerbates antibiotic resistance: Is this a current oversight in antimicrobial stewardship?. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control 9, 162 (2020).
EUMS-ISMCS 2022
We are overwhelmed by all the positive interactions we've had at the EUMS-ISMCS 2022 conference. Lots of you have taken a huge interest into our Cold Plasma SteriPlas medical device and its strong efficacy with LVAD infections. It's great to have seen regular faces as well as meeting new.
We hope you also got to see Dr Heinrich Rotering's presentation during the conference, "Treatment of Biofilm-Infested Implants - A Tissue Saving Approach". His great presentation elaborates the key benefits of using the SteriPlas for Sternal wound infections and LVAD infections.
Contact us for more info on info@adtecplasma.com
Welcoming delegates at The Malvern Diabetic Foot conference
We’re having a great time welcoming you all to our booth at the Malvern Diabetic Foot Conference, introducing you all to the benefits of the SteriPlas cold plasma for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.
For those wishing to learn more about our clinical efficacy in diabetic foot ulcers, please contact us at info@adtecplasma.com for more information.
Welcoming Cardiothoracic Specialists at The SCTS
We're having a great time at the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in GB & Ireland conference, introducing the strong benefits of our Adtec SteriPlas cold plasma for deep sternal wound infections.
Please do pop by & see us at booth 18 to see our medical device in action.
Characterisation of a Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Torch for Medical Applications
We congratulate Dr Adam Bennett on his most recent publication, “Characterisation of a Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Torch for Medical Applications: Demonstration of Device Safety”.
The safety and effectiveness of plasma devices are of crucial importance, especially for applications where the plasma is discharged near humans. This study presents the novel design and characterisation of a Cold Atmospheric Plasma torch (SteriPlas), which is used in medical applications. The study shows the characterisation methodology that must be undertaken to show that a plasma device is safe, especially when used in an application on human skin. The emission spectrum discharged from the plasma torch is shown. The UV emitted is measured and the effective irradiance is calculated. The effective irradiance enables the determination of the maximum UV exposure limits, which in this application are shown to be over two hours; however, in some applications may be only seconds. NOx and ozone emissions are also recorded. The NOx levels in this application are shown to be orders of magnitude lower than their safety limits and the ozone emissions are also shown to be safe; however, in some plasma technologies the NOx and ozone levels are orders of magnitude higher than the safe levels.
This paper concludes with a discussion of how safety limits vary in different regions around the world and proposes an international standard. It documents the safety of our medical device which further reiterates one of our main strengths where no side effects have been reported.
Access to the full paper can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/24/11864
Adtec Healthcare prepares for exhibition in July
We are very excited to be exhibiting at the Malvern Diabetic Foot Conference between 7-9th July. This will be our first physical exhibition participation in over a year! Be sure to visit us and see our cold plasma medical device live in action, perfect for the treatment of chronic DFUs infected with biofilm.
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Did you see the Adtec SteriPlas featured in the Czech Society for Wound Healing magazine?
Dr Hokynková from the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery at Brno Hospital in Czech Republic had published a case study in the magazine to document the efficacy of the Adtec SteriPlas after having tested this on a variety of wounds including pressure ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers.
The article validates the SteriPlas’ ability to significantly reduce microbial load within the wound which allows the body to regain control and accelerate healing of stalled wounds. This includes wounds that are already contaminated with biofilm and listed for amputations. A change from the conventional therapies already existing on the market, the Adtec SteriPlas has proven to reverse further deterioration of complicated wounds and allow full healing and stability to be achieved.
For a translation of the article or to learn more about our efficacy and treatment options, please email us at info@adtecplasma.com
LVAD - Heidelberg publication 2021
Congratulations to Dr Kremer and the Cardiology Team at The University Hospital Heidelberg for their new publication, “Follow-Up after Cold Atmospheric Argon Plasma for Wound Management of Driveline Infections - A Promising Strategy”. This publication features the use of our Adtec SteriPlas medical device for the treatment of driveline infections (DLI). The results demonstrate how the safety, reliability and painless treatment from the Adtec SteriPlas can significantly reduce the wound and infection around the DLI, with the opportunity for sustainable freedom from DLI.
Deep Sternum Surgical Site Infections (DSSIs)
Deep sternal surgical site infections (DSSIs) are a still a severe complication after cardiac surgery. The mortality estimated range is between 15%-40% of all cases. In addition to the significantly extended hospitalization, there is a significant cost burden with a calculated cost of € 36,000 for a single DSSI case.
The use of the Adtec SteriPlas for these complicated conditions has been actively documented as better managing the chronic infections, reducing hospitalization times and cost but more importantly it has shown to decrease the mortality rate. Our medical device has been praised as a tissue and life saving medical device.
Herz medizin 2021
We look forward to supporting Dr Heinrich Rotering’s presentation, “Avoiding sternal wire removal in early onset of sternal site infection - Two years experience with an optimized treatment concept using cold atmospheric plasma“ at the Annual scientific meeting of the German Society for Thoracic, Cardiac and Vascular Surgery. His presentation will discuss the strong benefits of using the Adtec SteriPlas for complicated sternal wound infections in cardiac patients.
The conference will be held virtually between 26-28 February: https://www.dgthg.de/de/jahrestagung