Cellular characterization of wound exudate as a predictor of wound healing phases

This study was designed to characterize the cell populations present in wound exudate, to examine the validity of these populations in identifying the wound phase to find possible predictors of healing, and to anticipate events in favor of a more rapid recovery.

Fourteen patients who presented with postsurgical wounds with negative pressure therapy were included in the study. The authors collected samples from 51 wounds in the inflammatory phase and 29 in the proliferative phase.

The number of neutrophils and platelets in the exudate collected from wounds in the inflammatory phase was significantly higher (P < 0.05), while the number of lymphocytes, eosinophils, and basophils was significantly higher in exudate from wounds in the proliferative phase. The receiver operating characteristic analysis gives an area under curve of 0.815 for neutrophils (P < 0.001, CI: 0.698-0.933) and 0.760 for platelets (P < 0.001, CI: 0.647-0.873). The results showed 45.8% of neutrophils have a sensitivity of 84.4% and a specificity of 66.7% for detecting the inflammatory phase. For platelets, a level of 135.000 has a sensitivity of 71.1% and a specificity of 61.1%. The percentage of neutrophils and the platelet levels remained significant predictors of the inflammatory phase.

The study results suggest that platelets and neutrophils in wound exudate might be useful prognostic indicators of the inflammatory or proliferative phase of wound healing.