The Clinical Relevance of Treating Chronic Wounds with an Enhanced Near-Physiological Concentration of Platelet-Rich Plasma Gel

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated clinical outcomes in chronic nonhealing wounds following the short-term use of an enhanced, near-physiological concentration of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) gel (AutoloGel System, Cytomedix, Inc, Gaithersburg, Maryland). DESIGN: Study design was a large, observational case series using a multicenter registry database (all wounds included), which compared different populations within the database. SETTING: Thirty-nine centers contributed to the registry, including long-term acute-care centers, outpatient clinics, a durable medical equipment company, a home health agency, and a long-term-care center. PATIENTS: The target population included 285 chronic wounds (patient n = 200). Wound etiologies included diabetic, pressure, or venous ulcer; dehisced, surgical, or traumatic wound; and wounds of other etiologies. INTERVENTION: Therapeutic, PRP gel is produced from patient blood utilizing autologous platelets and plasma that contribute growth factors, cytokines, and chemokines, in a fibrin matrix. MAIN MEASURES: Area and volume of the wound and the linear total of undermining and sinus tracts/tunneling were calculated. Clinical relevance was determined by analyzing outcomes in wounds that responded to treatment. MAIN RESULTS: A positive response occurred in 96.5% of wounds within 2.2 weeks with 2.8 treatments. In 86.3% of wounds, 47.5% area reduction occurred, and 90.5% of wounds had a 63.6% volume reduction. In 89.4% undermined and 85.7% of sinus tracts/tunneling wounds, 71.9% and 49.3% reductions in linear total were observed, respectively. CONCLUSION: In chronic wounds recalcitrant to other treatments, utilization of PRP gel can restart the healing process. Rapid treatment response was observed in 275 of 285 wounds, and the magnitude of response was consistently high, with statistically significant outcomes reported for various subgroups.