Treatment of a wound infection in a patient with mantle cell lymphoma

Abstract

This case study examines the impact of a severe wound infection on a patient undergoing chemotherapy for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma. The study illustrates how life threatening an infection can become in a patient whose body is compromised as a consequence of both disease and chemotherapy treatment. A number of specialist products were required in order to overcome the infection, debride and heal the wound. These included larval therapy, vacuum-assisted closure and Leptospermum honey. While this case study focuses on the successful outcome of one particular patient it aims to raise awareness of the role of specialist products, both old and new, in improving healing rates of complex wounds.

Honey in modern wound care: A systematic review

“…The debriding capacity of honey is reported in three RCTs, and only in one of them a statistically significant result in favour of honey was found (Tables 4 and 5). Positive results for both of these outcome parameters are respectively supported by one CT and multiple case reports [13,25,26,29,[51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58].…”

“…One CT and seven CRs support this effect of honey [13,26,29,[51][52][53][54][55], and two of the CRs report that honey is effective even against MRSA [13,26].…”

“…Honey is widely used in various types of ulcers, such as venous, arterial and mixed ulcers, pressure ulcers and diabetic [13] n = 1 H: Medihoney from Australia; C: À Wound infection and abdominal cellulitis following lymph node biopsy in a patient undergoing chemotherapy Dunford et al [26] n = 2 H: Manuka, UMF 13; C: À Traumatic skin lesions Ganacias [58] n = 1 H: Medihoney 1 ; C: / Postsurgical wound Hon [81] n = 1 H: Manuka (Activon Tulle); C: À Epidermolysis bullosa Lotfy et al [54] n = 1 H: /; C: À Foot abscess in a diabetic patient Robson and Cooper [56] n = 4 H: Medihoney TM ; C: / Wounds impaired by radiotherapy b u r n s x x x ( 2 0 1 3 ) x x x -x x x foot ulcers [42]. In this review 19 trials that examined the effects of honey in chronic ulcers were included (Table 3).…”

“…In more recent times, during World War I, honey was used by the Russians and the Germans [4,11] and remained popular until the advent of antibiotics in 1940 [1,12]. However, due to the ever-increasing resistance against antibiotics and the growing awareness for natural remedies, the interest in the antimicrobial and wound healing properties of honey have shown a revival [1,3,13]. Honey is a viscous, hypersaturated sugar solution coming from nectar which has been collected and modified by the honey bee, Apis [6].…”

Intraurethral honey application for urethral injury: an experimental study

“…It has been clinically used for superficial burns and wounds, for chronic wounds such as pressure and varicose ulcers and diabetic wounds, Fournier gangrene and for wounds which develop after chemotherapy successfully [7,[10][11][12]. Successful results have also been achieved experimentally in the prevention of tumour implantation after cancer surgery and post-operative intraperitoneal adhesions.…”