Effect of Cold Atmospheric Plasma Therapy vs Standard Therapy Placebo on Wound Healing in Patients With Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Diabetic foot ulcers are a common complication of diabetes and require specialized treatment. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has been associated with benefits in wound infection and healing in previous smaller series of case reports. Yet the effect of CAP compared with standard care therapy in wound healing in diabetic foot ulcers remains to be studied.

Psychometric properties of the Calgary Cambridge guides to assess communication skills of undergraduate medical students.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the short version of the Calgary Cambridge Guides and to decide whether it can be recommended for use in the assessment of communications skills in young undergraduate medical students.

Methods: Using a translated version of the Guide, 30 members from the Department of General Practice rated 5 videotaped encounters between students and simulated patients twice. Item analysis should detect possible floor and/or ceiling effects.

A case of Legionnaires' disease caused by aspiration of ice water.

The authors discuss the case of a 79-year-old patient who suffered from a swallowing disorder and developed Legionnaires' disease 2 days after her dismissal from an orthopedics ward, where she had recovered from hip surgery. To determine the source of the Legionnaires' disease, the authors performed an environmental investigation, which included a national, standardized questionnaire and a microbiological investigation of suspected sources. The investigation revealed ice from an ice-making machine in the hospital as the most probable source of the infection through aspiration, even though the hospital had rigorously adhered to strict assessment and decontamination schedules.