Each year in the United States, two million people suffer burn injuries resulting in approximately 100,000 - 300,000 hospitalizations. Of these two million, more than 12,000 will eventually die of burn-related infections. People suffering from burn wounds have lost a portion of their integument, diminishing one of the body's main defenses against bacterial infection. In addition, the necrotic tissue in the burn eschar, combined with the presence of serum proteins, provides a rich culture medium for microorganisms. Added to the loss of integument is the adverse affect of thermal injury on both local and systemic immunity. For these reasons, infections and sepsis are the most common cause of death among hospitalized burn patient. New methods of burn wound management require a cocktail of antimicrobial and antibiotic agents to fight infection however; they are becoming less effective due to resistant strains of microorganisms. In this Phase I effort we will demonstrate the feasibility of a fundamentally new method for burn wound care. The point of care (POC) system will be designed to generate sterile saline or water to moisten or wet the dressings for both the eschar as well as the graft after excision and deliver a broad based antimicrobial agent effective, against gram positive and gram-negative bacteria and fungi to the wound surface.
