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Wound 'dechronification' with negatively-charged polystyrene microspheres: a double-blind RCT
1Plastic Surgery Department, Soroka University Medical Center, Be'er Sheva, Israel. yshoham@bgu.ac.il
Journal of Wound Care
|May 14, 2013
Summary
Negatively-charged polystyrene microspheres (NCM) significantly improved granulation tissue formation and reduced wound size in hard-to-heal wounds compared to saline soaks. This treatment effectively promotes healing in chronic wounds.
Area of Science:
- Wound healing research
- Biomaterials in medicine
- Regenerative medicine
Background:
- Hard-to-heal wounds pose a significant clinical challenge.
- Chronic wounds often exhibit delayed healing and require advanced treatment modalities.
- Existing treatments may not always be effective for complex wound etiologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of negatively-charged polystyrene microspheres (NCM) versus saline controls.
- To assess NCM's impact on granulation tissue formation in chronic wounds.
- To compare wound size reduction in NCM-treated versus control groups.
Main Methods:
- Randomized controlled trial involving patients with hard-to-heal wounds.
- NCM (PolyHeal) or saline soaks applied twice daily for 4 weeks.
- Bi-weekly monitoring for 8 weeks post-treatment, with a 2-year follow-up.
Main Results:
- 47% of patients in the NCM group achieved >75% granulation tissue coverage vs. 15% in controls (p=0.01).
- Mean wound surface area reduction was 39.0% with NCM vs. 14.9% with controls (p=0.02).
- Positive trends observed in venous insufficiency and post-trauma wound subgroups.
Conclusions:
- NCM treatment significantly enhances healthy granulation tissue formation.
- NCM effectively reduces wound size in hard-to-heal and chronic wounds.
- NCM 'kick-starts' the healing process and 'dechronifies' chronic wounds.
