On the initiative of the German Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery eV (DGMKG) and the National Center for Plasma Medicine eV Berlin, the working group of scientific medical societies eV (AWMF) has drawn up the first guideline for the rational therapeutic use of cold physical plasma and now published.
Societies specializing in the fields of otolaryngology, dermatology, surgery, ophthalmology and dentistry, among others, contributed to the guideline. The main direction was the Clinic for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMG) and Plastic Surgery in Greifswald, led by Professor Andrea Rau. The guidelines give recommendations on how to diagnose and treat a disease. They are aimed primarily at doctors, but also at nurses and other healthcare professionals as well as patients, said clinic director Professor Andrea Rau. “The guideline creates greater security of supply for everyone involved and should help to better exploit the potential of this new technology and avoid processing errors. Plasma medicine has become an integral part and is indispensable, not only in maxillofacial surgery at the University Medical Center in Greifswald with its complex plastic surgeries.
Greifswald Plasma Medicine Cluster as an innovation center
The successful breakthrough has its roots in the plasma medicine cluster in Greifswald. University medicine, the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Research and Technology (INP) and neoplas med GmbH are working together on this. “This globally unique network of excellent basic research in laboratories, application supported by studies on patients and industrial production linked to research at the world leader in plasma jet medical devices is currently giving a decisive impetus to the development of plasma medicine,” said Chairman of the Board of the National Center for Plasma Medicine, Professor de Greifswald Hans-Robert Metelmann. “With this guideline, plasma medicine has successfully established itself as an effective therapeutic strategy.”
Plasma medicine has been researched in many clinics of the Medical University of Greifswald since the first devices were approved in 2013. Clinically, plasma medicine is used in Greifswald, especially when it these are wounds that do not heal. Cold plasma, which is generated as ionized gas in a hand-held device and then acts on the wound surface as a warm, precisely directed jet, can kill problematic germs without contact and stimulate all wound closure processes. skin. “The participation of so many medical disciplines in the guideline shows a broad interest in a scientifically based and quality-oriented development of plasma medicine for clinics and practices,” says Chief Physician Dr. Christian Seebauer, which manages consultation hours in maxillofacial surgery. A sign of the growing importance of plasma medicine is also that the rational use of cold plasma has been introduced as a special treatment option in the new STERN doctor list of March 8, 2022, here in connection with dermatological medicine at laser: “Plasma medicine for the prevention of wound infections”. (p. 143).
context
What is cold plasma?
Cold physical plasma in the sense of the directive is an ionized gas in the temperature range of body temperature, which is created by electrical energy. Plasma is generated and applied directly during treatment using devices approved as medical devices. Other terms used in the scientific literature and in medical applications include Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma, CAP, Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma, Cold Plasma, Physical Plasma, Tissue Tolerable Plasma, Nonthermal Plasma, Low temperature, NTP. A common clinical term is plasma. One of the most significant advantages of cold plasma application over other antimicrobial treatments is its effectiveness against multidrug resistant skin and wound germs.
What can plasma medicine do?
Plasma medicine combines plasma physics and life sciences in a field of research that deals with the medical application of physical plasmas. The biological and medically useful effectiveness of cold atmospheric pressure plasmas relies primarily on the complex effects of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Electric fields and emitted UV radiation play a supporting role. Research and application interests focus on three fundamental effects of plasma: the possible destruction of a broad spectrum of microorganisms, including multidrug-resistant bacteria and viruses; stimulate the regeneration of damaged tissues by stimulating cell growth, cell migration and the formation of new blood vessels and by triggering regulated cell death processes, especially in cancer cells.
Who participated in the development of the guideline?
German Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (Prof. Dr. Dr. Hans-Robert Metelmann) • National Center for Plasma Medicine (Prof. Dr. Thomas von Woedtke) • German Society for Dermatology (Prof. Dr. Steffen Emmert) • German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (PD Dr. Lars Ivo Partecke) • German Society for Periodontology (Prof. Dr. Moritz Kebschull) • German Society for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (Prof. Dr. Frank Siemers) • German Society for Trauma Surgery (PD Dr. Denis Gümbel) • German Society for Surgery (PD Dr. Lars Ivo Partecke) • German Society for Ear, Nose and Throat, Head and Neck Medicine (Prof. Dr. Ulrich Harréus) • Society German Society for Dental, Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine (Prof. Dr. Thomas Kocher) • German Society for Burn Medicine (Prof. Dr. Frank Siemers) • German Society for Ophthalmology (Prof. Dr. Frank Tost) • German Society for Photonics and doctor and laser (Dr. Carsten Philipp) • Plasma Germany (Prof. Dr. Holger Kersten)
New specialized publication
Alongside the guideline, the “Textbook of Good Clinical Practice in Cold Plasma Therapy” was published by Springer Nature, in which the Plasma Medicine Cluster Greifswald played a leading role as editor. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-87857-3
Further information
http://www.plasma-medizin.de, http://www.inp-greifswald.de, http://www.neoplas.eu, http://www.awmf.org
S2k directive. Rational therapeutic use of cold physical plasma
AWMF register number: 007-107, as of February 23, 2022
http://www.awmf.org/uploads/tx_szleitlinien/007-107l_Rationaler-therapeutic-Einsatz-von-cold-physical-plasma_2022-02.pdf
Source: Greifswald University Medicine