Chronic wound

A chronic wound is a wound that does not heal in an orderly set of stages and in a predictable amount of time the way most wounds do; wounds that do not heal within three months are often considered chronic.[1] Chronic wounds seem to be detained in one or more of the phases of wound healing. For example, chronic wounds often remain in the inflammatory stage for too long.[2][3] To overcome that stage and jump-start the healing process, a number of factors need to be addressed such as bacterial burden, necrotic tissue, and moisture balance of the whole wound.[4] In acute wounds, there is a precise balance between production and degradation of molecules such as collagen; in chronic wounds this balance is lost and degradation plays too large a role.[5][6]

Chronic wounds may never heal or may take years to do so. These wounds can cause patients severe emotional and physical stress and create a significant financial burden on patients and the whole healthcare system.[7]

Acute and chronic wounds are at opposite ends of a spectrum of wound-healing types that progress toward being healed at different rates.[8]

  1. ^ Mustoe T (March 17–18, 2005). "Dermal ulcer healing: Advances in understanding" (PDF). Tissue repair and ulcer/wound healing: molecular mechanisms, therapeutic targets and future directions. Paris, France: EUROCONFERENCES. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 27, 2005.
  2. ^ Snyder RJ (2005). "Treatment of nonhealing ulcers with allografts". Clinics in Dermatology. 23 (4): 388–95. doi:10.1016/j.clindermatol.2004.07.020. PMID 16023934.
  3. ^ Taylor JE, Laity PR, Hicks J, Wong SS, Norris K, Khunkamchoo P, et al. (October 2005). "Extent of iron pick-up in deforoxamine-coupled polyurethane materials for therapy of chronic wounds". Biomaterials. 26 (30): 6024–33. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2005.03.015. PMID 15885771.
  4. ^ Gist S, Tio-Matos I, Falzgraf S, Cameron S, Beebe M (June 2009). "Wound care in the geriatric client". Clinical Interventions in Aging. 4: 269–87. doi:10.2147/CIA.S4726. PMC 2697592. PMID 19554098.
  5. ^ Edwards JV, Howley P, Cohen IK (October 2004). "In vitro inhibition of human neutrophil elastase by oleic acid albumin formulations from derivatized cotton wound dressings". International Journal of Pharmaceutics. 284 (1–2): 1–12. doi:10.1016/j.ijpharm.2004.06.003. PMID 15454291.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Schönfelder U, Abel M, Wiegand C, Klemm D, Elsner P, Hipler UC (November 2005). "Influence of selected wound dressings on PMN elastase in chronic wound fluid and their antioxidative potential in vitro". Biomaterials. 26 (33): 6664–73. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2005.04.030. PMID 15978664.
  7. ^ Augustin M, Maier K (2003). "Psychosomatic aspects of chronic wounds". Dermatology and Psychosomatics/Dermatologie und Psychosomatik. 4 (1): 5–13. doi:10.1159/000070529. S2CID 72066898.
  8. ^ Moreo K (2005). "Understanding and overcoming the challenges of effective case management for patients with chronic wounds". The Case Manager. 16 (2): 62–3, 67. doi:10.1016/j.casemgr.2005.01.014. PMID 15818347.