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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
Strategic Endothelial Cell Tube Formation Assay: Comparing Extracellular Matrix and Growth Factor Reduced Extracellular Matrix
Published on: August 14, 2016
Long-term outcome study of growth factor-treated pressure ulcers
W G Payne1, D E Ochs, D D Meltzer
1Department of Surgery, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.
Background:
Exogenous application of growth factors have been reported in an attempt to accelerate healing of chronic wounds. Most of the trials were of brief duration with short to no follow-up periods. Long-term outcome studies are sparse for pressure ulcer therapies with success rates around 30% for both operative and nonoperative treatments.
Methods:
Follow-up evaluations were performed serially up to 12 months for patients completing a 35 day blinded, placebo-controlled cytokine clinical trial of pressure ulcers.
Results:
Fifty-four of 61 patients completed the follow-up period with 68.5% of the patients (37 of 54) being healed after 1 year. Of patients healing > or =85% during the active treatment phase, 84.6% were healed after 1 year compared with 61% of those that healed <85% during treatment (P <0.05).
Conclusion:
Long-term outcome was better in this growth factor trial than with surgical or standard nonoperative treatment of pressure ulcers. Since only patients receiving exogenously applied cytokines achieved >85% closure during the treatment phase of the trial, the excellent long-term outcome appears attributable to the cytokine therapy.
