Treating a ‘Silent Pandemic’: More Effective Dressing for Chronic Wounds on the Horizon, Researchers Say

A new antibiotic- and silver ion-free dressing that has shown promising results in trials is good news for patients with chronic wounds. Researchers from Australia and the UK recently showed that a new treatment using a plasma-activated hydrogel can effectively kill bacteria, avoiding issues with current treatment methods for non-healing wounds. Chronic wounds are wounds that fail to heal in an orderly and timely fashion or do not heal within a specific period, usually a month to three months. These wounds, which are at high risk of repeated infections, are frequently found in patients with diabetes. Statistics estimate that there will be 578 million people with diabetes by 2030—a 36 percent increase from 2020. More than 30 percent of those patients will experience an ulcer at some point, while 60 percent of those ulcers will become infected. When those infections don’t respond to antibiotic treatment, amputation may be necessary....