Not only does cold plasma treatment avoid the nasty side effects that drugs often bring, but the ionized torch destroys bacteria indiscriminately -- whether it is antibiotic-resistant or not.

Antibiotics that have been shelved for years might even be re-introduced to fight superbugs, though obviously this would be less than ideal because of higher risk of side effects.

Only one patient had transient fever after both procedures, which was easily treated by administration of intravenous antibiotics. No serious side effects were reported.