Abstract
Background/objectives: Chronic pressure ulcers affect patient health, emotional state, and quality of life, causing considerable morbidity and mortality in addition to contributing to significant health care costs from lengthy hospitalizations to advanced home care and surgical care costs. The conventional treatment of these wounds can be slow due to their chronic inflammatory state and the senescence of local reparative cells. Platelet-rich plasma (PAP) therapy has been growing as a viable treatment alternative for a number of clinical applications and has potential benefit for use in chronic wounds. The sustained release of large quantities of autologous growth factors, cytokines, and other mediators found in PAP plus the favorable mononuclear cell profile of PAP may help us to stimulate wound healing and resolve chronic inflammation.
Methods: Three veterans with spinal cord injury (SCI), presenting with chronic stage IV pressure ulcers, were treated with a sustained release PAP therapy to stimulate wound healing.
Results: PAP treatment consistently resulted in the formation of granulation tissue and improved vascularity for each of the three patients treated, while reducing the overall ulcer area and volume.
Conclusion: The controlled release of growth factors from PAP demonstrated a positive stimulatory effect on the healing rate of chronic pressure ulcers in individuals with SCI.
