The Wound Institute (TWI) today announced the launch of a new educational module "Exploring Biofilms," an accredited, online course designed to help practicing wound care specialists better understand the role that biofilms play in chronic wound infections.
"Bacterial biofilms are a structured community of bacterial cells, enclosed in a self-produced matrix, that provide a continuous source of inflammation which appears to prevent wounds from healing," explains Randall D. Wolcott, MD, CWS, Medical Director, Southwest Regional Wound Care Center (Lubbock, Texas), and faculty advisor and consultant to HEALTHPOINT. "As a result of their structured community, these microbes can overwhelm the body's defense mechanisms, causing stubborn infections that are extremely difficult to eradicate with conventional antimicrobial agents."
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that over 80% of microbial infections in the body are caused by bacteria growing in biofilms. The paramount role that biofilms play in the treatment of chronic wound infections has only recently been discovered by bacteriologists. Accordingly, little research has yet evaluated the extent of biofilm formation in chronic wounds, although one study using molecular sequence analyses found that 30 of 50 (60%) of chronic venous ulcers contained biofilm, in contrast to 1 of 16 (6%) of acute wounds.
The "Exploring Biofilms" course helps physicians understand the growth phases, colony defenses and synergy between the microbial flora in order to clinically manage biofilms. The course is approved for 1.0 unit AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)(TM) for physicians and is available at no cost to clinicians.
"We are pleased to support this important and timely course examining the hypothesis that chronic wounds may fail to heal because they have developed biofilms," commented Komel Grover, HEALTHPOINT's Director of Medical Education. "With the 'Exploring Biofilms' module, TWI continues to support its dedication to the wound care community with objective educational offerings that we hope will ultimately contribute to improved treatment strategies and better clinical outcomes."
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