Cold atmOspheric plaSMa Therapy Versus standArd Wound Care in Diabetic Foot and Venous Leg ulcerS

NCT07251426 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: NL009805
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 494
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and venous leg ulcers (VLUs) pose a major health burden to the patients but also to the healthcare system because of their distorted healing capacity. This is mainly due to a prolonged treatment duration, high recurrence rates and substantial healthcare costs in wound care. Current guidelines exist that outline the standard wound care (SWC) in these patient groups but it often fails to achieve timely healing. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is an emerging technology with promising antimicrobial and wound healing properties. In vitro and in vivo studies have highlighted the ability of CAP to reduce the bacterial biofilm load and stimulate tissue regeneration and microcirculation. This Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) aims to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of CAP in addition to SWC in patients with a DFU and VLU.

Conditions

Diabetic Foot Ulcer; Venous Leg Ulcer

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Ulcer-free survival days

  number of days within the follow-up period (until 26 weeks after the start of the treatment) where the participant is alive and has no ulcer on the same anatomical location of the same foot or limb

  26 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (13)

• Quality of Life (QoL)

  baseline, 13 weeks and 26 weeks

• Wound Quality of Life (Wound-QoL)

  baseline, 13 weeks, 26 weeks

• Wound healing rate

  26 weeks

• time to wound healing

  26 weeks

• Surface area reduction

  26 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Cold atmospheric Plasma

EXPERIMENTAL

Cold Atmospheric Plasma Treatment 2x per week

Device: COLD ATMOSPHERIC PLASMA

Standard Wound Care

NO INTERVENTION

The use of standardized wound care 2x per week

Interventions

COLD ATMOSPHERIC PLASMA DEVICE

Cold Atmospheric plasma treatment in addition to standard wound care

Cold atmospheric Plasma

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• \. is referred to one of the participating hospitals for treatment of a diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) or venous leg ulcer (VLU) with healing stagnation and
• a. For VLU: i. An ulcer on the lower leg resulting from malfunctioning venous valves in the leg veins.
• b. For DFU: i. An ulcer on the foot or lower leg in person with currently or previously diagnosed diabetes mellitus and usually accompanied by neuropathy and/or peripheral artery disease (PAD) in the lower extremity Note: In patients with both diabetes and chronic venous insufficiency, ulcers will be categorized as DFU in case of symptoms of diabetic neuropathy or loss of protective sensation, and otherwise categorized as VLU.
• \. has a wound with a minimum wound surface area of 0.5 cm2 and a maximum diameter of 6 cm (\~28 cm2 wound surface area for circular wounds; measured after debridement),
• \. has a minimum age of 18 years old.

You may not qualify if:

• \. the participant has one or more of the following contraindications for PLASOMA:
• extreme exudative wounds, i.e. wounds in which moisture is visible within seconds after patting dry;
• any implanted active electronic device, such as a pacemaker, is present;
• an electronic medical device attached to the body, for example electronic life support equipment, a hearing aid, insulin pump or dialysis machine. If this medical device can be disconnected, PLASOMA treatment may be performed. If the sole purpose of this medical device is monitoring, such as a glucose sensor, PLASOMA treatment is not contra-indicated but note that use of PLASOMA together with such devices has not been tested and may lead to erroneous operation of the attached device during PLASOMA treatment;
• metal in the area 10 cm around pad-electrode area, e.g. metal sutures and implants;
• connection from outside the body to (near) the heart is present, e.g. a central venous catheter;
• the participant has epilepsy;
• the participant is pregnant.
• \. the participant has more than one wound that requires professional wound care.
• \. for DFU the WIfI-classification is wound grade 3, defined as an extensive, deep ulcer involving forefoot and/or midfoot; deep, full thickness heel ulcer + calcaneal involvement.
• \. presence of ischemia grade 2 or 3, according to the WIfI classification (= the ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) is ≤0.59 OR the ankle systolic pressure is ≤69 mmHg OR the toe pressure is ≤39 mmHg; there should be at least one of these three measurements available).
• \. a deep infection defined as an infection of the wound involving structures deeper than skin and subcutaneous tissues (e.g., abscess, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, fasciitis).
• \. the wound is located on a toe.
• \. the participant is receiving or likely to receive offloading with a total contact cast or advanced wound therapies - such as negative pressure therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, biologicals (e.g. skin substitutes, growth factors), electrophysical therapy - for the to be-treated wound. Advanced wound dressings (including but not limited to hydrocolloid, hydrogel, alginate, collagen and antimicrobial dressings) are not excluded.
• \. presence of a chronic or active skin disorder that may negatively influence wound healing (such as Marfan or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Olaf Bakker: lead

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Diabetic Foot; Varicose Ulcer

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Diabetic Angiopathies; Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Foot Ulcer; Leg Ulcer; Skin Ulcer; Skin Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases; Diabetes Complications; Diabetes Mellitus; Endocrine System Diseases; Diabetic Neuropathies; Varicose Veins

Central Study Contacts

Mikaella Loizou

CONTACT

+31639137130; m.loizou@antoniusziekenhuis.nl

Olaf Bakker

CONTACT

+31883201953; o.bakker@antoniusziekenhuis.nl

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 17, 2025
• First Posted: November 26, 2025
• Study Start: November 30, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 30, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 30, 2028
• Last Updated: November 26, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11