Effect of topical application of platelet‐rich plasma on chronic venous leg ulcerations

Abstract

Wound products that reliably support healing of chronic leg ulcers remain a huge unmet need in clinical practice. Due to the lack of standardized comparable protocols and different systems for platelet-rich plasma (PRP) preparation, there is limited data on healing rates in chronic venous ulcers. In our case series with a total of seven chronic leg ulcers in four patients, we investigated the healing rates based on standardized digital photographs of chronic venous ulcers after application of topical PRP using a digital imaging software. In 5 out of 7 ulcers, the PRP-treated wound half showed faster healing as compared the control half of the wound. In this case series, PRP-treated sides of chronic venous leg ulcers showed a tendency for accelerated healing as compared to nontreated collateral wound side. Our data support the evaluation of topical PRP treatment in the management of chronic venous leg ulcers.

The Efficiency and Safety of Platelet-Rich Plasma Dressing in the Treatment of Chronic Wounds: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…PRP consists of large amounts of growth factors and cytokines, which are released onto the wound and can recruit stem cells and various kinds of growth factors via cascade reactions. These cells and factors can contribute to regulating epithelial cell proliferation and migration, regulating fibroblastic activity [ 18 ], promoting angiogenesis and vessel permeability [ 53 ], and increasing protein and extracellular matrix synthesis [ 54 ]. In vivo, these growth factors could enhance the metabolic reprogramming of fibroblasts, especially promoting their glycolytic energy metabolism, to stimulate fibroblast proliferation and differentiation during tissue repairing [ 55 ].…”

Evaluation of a Semi-Automated Wound-Halving Algorithm for Split-Wound Design Studies: A Step towards Enhanced Wound-Healing Assessment

“…Chronic leg ulcers are common, causing an enormous burden on patients, their families and the healthcare system, and they represent a major unmet medical need [ 1 , 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Novel methods to efficiently and objectively evaluate the therapeutic effects of wound treatments are urgently needed [ 11 ].…”

“…The current literature that uses a split-wound approach is mainly focusing on surgical wounds and scars [ 21 , 22 ]. Previous research of our group focused on halving the wound subjectively according to the clinical presentation to be able to treat both wound sides differently [ 6 ]. We further refined that method to create an objective algorithm that has a low variability.…”