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Burn wound healing can be significantly delayed by infection leading to increased morbidity and hypertrophic scarring. An optimal antimicrobial agent would have the ability to kill bacteria without negatively affecting the host skin cells that are required for healing. Currently available products provide antimicrobial coverage, but may also cause reductions in cell proliferation and migration. Cold atmospheric plasma is a partially ionized gas that can be produced under atmospheric pressure at room temperature. In this study a novel handheld Aceso Plasma Generator was used to produce and test Aceso Cold Plasma (ACP) in vitro and in vivo. ACP showed a potent ability to eliminate bacterial load in vitro for a number of different species. Deep partial-thickness and full-thickness wounds that were treated with ACP after burning, after excision, after autografting, and at days 5, 7, and 9 did not show any negative effects on their wound healing trajectories. On par with in vitro analysis, bioburden was decreased in treated wounds vs. control. In addition, metrics of hypertrophic scar such as dyschromia, elasticity, trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), and epidermal and dermal thickness were the same between the two treatment groups.It is likely that ACP can be used to mitigate the risk of bacterial infection during the phase of acute burn injury while patients await surgery for definitive closure. It may also be useful in treating wounds with delayed re-epithelialization that are at risk for infection and hypertrophic scarring. A handheld cold plasma device will be useful in treating all manner of wounds and surgical sites in order to decrease bacterial burden in an efficient and highly effective manner without compromising wound healing. • ACP showed a potent ability to eliminate bacterial load in vitro for a number of different species. • ACP was compatible with deep partial thickness burn wound healing. • ACP was compatible with full thickness burn wound healing after skin grafting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dyschromic hypertrophic scar (HTS) is a common sequelae of burn injury, however, its mechanism has not been elucidated. This work is a histological study of these scars with a focus on rete ridges. Rete ridges are important for normal skin physiology, and their absence or presence may hold mechanistic significance in post-burn HTS dyschromia. It was posited that hyper-, and hypo-pigmented areas of scars have different numbers of rete ridges. Subjects with dyschromic burn hypertrophic scar were prospectively enrolled (n = 44). Punch biopsies of hyper-, hypo-, and normally pigmented scar and skin were collected. Biopsies were paraffin embedded, sectioned, stained with H&E, and imaged. The number of rete ridges were investigated. Burn hypertrophic scars that healed without autografts were first investigated. The number of rete ridges was higher in normal skin compared to HTS that was either hypo- (p < 0.01) or hyper-pigmented (p < 0.001). This difference was similar despite scar pigmentation phenotype (p = 0.8687). Autografted hyper-pigmented scars had higher rete ridge ratio compared to non-autografted hyper-pigmented HTS (p < 0.0001). Burn hypertrophihc scars have fewer rete ridges than normal skin. This finding may explain the decreased epidermal adherence to underlying dermis associated with hypertrophic scars. Though, contrary to our hypothesis, no direct link between the extent of dyschromia and rete ridge quantity was observed, the differences in normal skin and hypertrophic scar may lead to further understanding of dyschromic scars. • We describe a novel, quantitative method for evaluation of rete ridges. • The number of rete ridges does not correlate with degree of dyschromia in burn scar. • Rete ridge number correlated with patient age and degree of melanin in normal skin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autologous skin cell suspensions (ASCS) can treat burns of varying depths with the advantage of reduced donor site wound burden. The current standard primary dressing for ASCS is a nonabsorbant, non-adherent, perforated film (control) which has limited conformability over heterogeneous wound beds and allows for run-off of the ASCS. To address these concerns, a novel spray-on polymer formulation was tested as a potential primary dressing in porcine deep partial thickness (DPT) and full thickness (FT) wounds. It was hypothesized that the polymer would perform as well as control dressing when evaluating wound healing and scarring. DPT or FT wounds were treated with either a spray-on poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and poly(lactide-co-caprolactone) (PLCL) formulation or control ASCS dressings. Throughout the experimental time course (to day 50), we found no significant differences between polymer and control wounds in % re-epithelialization, graft-loss, epidermal or dermal thickness, or % dermal cellularity in either model. Pigmentation, erythema, elasticity, and trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), were not significantly altered between the treatment groups, but differences between healing wounds/scars and un-injured skin were observed. No cytotoxic effect was observed in ASCS incubated with the PLGA and PLCL polymers. These data suggest that the novel spray-on polymer is a viable option as a primary dressing, with improved ease of application and conformation to irregular wounds. Polymer formulation and application technique should be a subject of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: An elevated procoagulant activity observed in trauma patients is, in part, related to tissue factor (TF) located on blood cells and microparticles. However, analysis of trauma patient plasma indicates that there are other contributor(s) to the procoagulant activity. We hypothesize that factor (F)XIa and FIXa are responsible for an additional procoagulant activity in burn patients.Methods: Multiple time-point plasma samples from 56 burn patients (total number of samples was 471; up to 20 time-points/patient collected in 3 weeks following admission) were evaluated in a thrombin generation assay using inhibitory antibodies to TF, FIXa and FXIa.Results: Due to the limited volume of some samples, not all were analyzed for all three proteins. At admission, 10 of 53 patients (19%) had active TF, 53 of 55 (96%) had FXIa and 48 of 55 (87%) had FIXa in their plasma. 34 patients of 56 enrolled (61%) showed TF activity at one or more time-points. All patients had FXIa and 96% had FIXa at one or more time-points. Overall, TF was observed in 99 of 455 samples analyzed (22%), FXIa in 424 of 471 (90%) and FIXa in 244 of 471 (52%). The concentration of TF was relatively low and varied between 0 and 2.1pM, whereas that of FXIa was higher, exceeding 100pM in some samples. The majority of samples with FIXa had it at sub-nanomolar concentrations. No TF, FXIa and FIXa activity was detected in plasma from healthy individuals.Conclusions: For the first time reported, the majority of plasma samples from burn patients have active FXIa and FIXa, with a significant fraction of them having active TF. The concentration of all three proteins varies in a wide range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a pathogen that can result in substantial morbidity and mortality. Early detection of MRSA colonization by screening nasal swabs may be important in the management of burn-injured patients. However, studies examining its use in this population are limited. The aim of this study was to study the utility of admission MRSA screening nasal swabs and determine if being positive for MRSA on admission impacted outcomes.Materials and Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of burn patients who presented to a single regional burn center between June 2012 and December 2014. Electronic medical records and charts were reviewed for patient demographics and management. MRSA screening swabs were obtained from the anterior nares of burn patients upon admission. Patients without a MRSA nasal swab within 48h of admission were excluded. Outcomes analyzed included overall length of stay, ICU admission and length of stay, mechanical ventilation, procedure count, time to excision, and wound complications after normalizing to total body surface area burn size (%TBSA).Results: During the study period, 601 patients received a MRSA screening nasal swab upon admission. Of these, 24 patients screened positive for MRSA (4%). Patients who screened positive for MRSA had a significantly increased mean length of stay (3.95v 2.36 days; p<0.05) and number of surgical procedures (1.92v 1.06; p<0.05). Positively screened patients also had a higher proportion of wound infections (50% v 18.2%; p<0.05), half of which were caused by MRSA. Subsequent graft complications were seen in 50% of patients with a wound complication. Only 2 positively screened patients were started on empiric antibiotics.Conclusions: Burn patients who screened positive for MRSA had greater lengths of stay, more surgical procedures, and higher wound complications. Early identification of MRSA colonized patients in this patient population might allow for treatment modifications that improve outcomes. Further study is warranted in a prospective clinical trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Bacterial infection in burn patients is still a devastating contributor to morbidity and mortality. Little is known regarding the presence of staphylococcal toxins in the burn-injured patient. The aim of this study was to characterize the prevalence of several of these toxins and their relationship to clinical metrics and mortality in burn patients. Levels of exotoxins staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA), staphylococcal enterotoxin B, toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1), and α-hemolysin were assayed from the serum of 207 adult burn patients aged 16–92years. Clinical, demographic, and microbiological data from these patients were then compared to toxin levels. Staphylococcal exotoxins α-hemolysin and SEA were present in 45% and 25% of the population, respectively. Bacterial cultures concomitantly showed a high prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in 48% of patients, of which 59% were methicillin resistant. Several metrics may be predictive of high toxin concentrations of α-hemolysin and TSST-1 and SEA including burn size, length of stay, and bacteremia. Mortality associations indicated that burn size, bacteremia, age, and the presence of α-hemolysin and SEA may be predictors of mortality. A high prevalence of staphylococcal toxin α-hemolysin and superantigens TSST-1 and SEA can be found in the circulation of the adult burn population. The presence of these toxins may contribute to the morbidity and mortality of the burn patient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]