Human acellular dermal wound matrix for treatment of DFU: literature review and analysis

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) affect a significant number of people and the treatment is challenging and costly. Since only a small portion of patients respond to standard care, the majority require more advanced wound healing interventions. Human acellular dermal matrices-regenerative tissue matrices derived from human tissue and processed from screened donated skin-can aid wound closure by restoring the missing physiological factors to the microenvironment. A literature review of the clinical literature was performed to estimate the comparative effectiveness of one specific human acellular dermal wound matrix (HADWM; Graftjacket regenerative tissue matrix) versus standard care in healing DFUs. Outcomes from three prospective, controlled clinical trials, which included 154 patients with DFUs, were pooled. A comparative analysis revealed a statistically significant reduction in mean wound healing time, 1.7 weeks, as well as a nearly four-fold improvement in the chance of healing ulcers treated with HADWM versus moist wound-care. These pooled results suggest that HADWM may improve healing outcomes for these difficult-to-heal lower extremity wounds.

Alexander Reyzelman is a consultant for KCI, an Acelity company.