Hospital Acquired Infection may be a Thing of Past

Around 100,000 people in North America die every year from hospital acquired infections or nosocomial infection. That means 100,000 people every year are dying from potentially preventable infections.
It is also a fact that the microbes in hospital are becoming resistant to common antibiotics and are persisting in spite of use of best available disinfectants; recent example is bacteria having NDM 1 gene (New Delhi Metalloproteinase 1). This is a global phenomenon.
An infectious disease expert from Queen's University has developed a disinfection system that may be very good in freeing the hospital rooms, beds and equipments from microbes.

Image via Wikipedia; Ozone

Medizone International at laboratories Innovation Park, Queen's University is commercializing the technology and the first batch is expected in the first quarter of 2012.

The new technology involves pumping a Medizone-specific ozone and hydrogen peroxide vapor gas mixture into a room; and it is far more effective in killing bacteria than wiping down a room.
The entire disinfection process is faster than other methods and it takes less than one hour.
Ozone is used as disinfectant for water in some places. Body defense produces ozone and hydrogen peroxide in order to kill the invaders. That is the source of inspiration for the scientists.
This technology can also be used in food preparation and processing areas; and to disinfect cruise ships after an infection outbreak.

COMPLICATIONS OF BURN

Burn is a dangerous condition and a pathetic looking disease.The victim always feels shrunk.A lot of complications follow a moderate to severe burn.In hospitalized patient nosocomial infection plays a major deteriorating factor .Isolation and careful choosing of antibiotics and a good dressing will help to a great extent if not full to control infection.Pain has to be addressed.Good nutrition with protein supplementation is important for recovery.
The main long term effects are scar formation,disfigurement,scar retraction and deformity,keloid formation,recurrent infection of keloid and a cancer called marjolin's ulcer.To minimize the scar formation skin grafting and if not available, in a major burn synthetic skin substitutes will play a good role.Now-a-days cultured skin cells are being developed but not available everywhere for use.Still, to minimize scar formation different stockings( compression bandages) are in use.
Once scar is formed it comes with it's inherent problems of retraction causing disfigurements of different types as imaginable to imagine depending on the site.Scars may hypertrophy and lead to ugly keloid formation.Keloids are unorganized growth of scar tissue and encroach on to the healthy surrounding tissue.Again that is difficult to treat.The treatment range from application of silicon gel to local injection of steroids.but nothing is satisfactory.
Contractures due to scar tissue may limit the movement if located near a joint and has to be released and skin grafted.
The most dreaded long term complication is a cancer on the scar tissue called Marjolin's ulcer and fortunately it is a little bit easier to treat.
So some precautions at some dangerous places may prevent these cascading effect of burn.

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