title: Allogenic platelet gel in the treatment of pressure sores: a pilot study.
abstract: Although platelet gel is considered one of the most popular tools in the treatment of chronic ulcers, current consensus on its use is not unanimous. A prospective randomised trial was carried out at the Plastic Surgery Unit of the 'Salvatore Maugeri' Foundation Hospital of Pavia (Italy). The study involved 13 patients affected by spinal cord injury with 16 pressure sores over a period of 20 months. The ulcer was considered the experimental unit of the study irrespective of the number of ulcers per patient. Each consecutive ulcer was randomised to be treated either with allogenic platelet gel or with current best practice approach to chronic wounds dressing protocol. At the end of the treatment 15 ulcers out of 16 improved clinically. No statistically significant difference was demonstrated in volume reduction between the two groups, although a statistically significant difference could be demonstrated in the onset time of granulation tissue proliferation as in the wounds treated with platelet gel the healing process was triggered earlier. Our study suggests that platelet gel is mostly effective within the first 2 weeks of treatment while a prolonged treatment does not provide any significant advantage versus the current best practice approach to chronic wounds protocols.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Pavia -Salvatore Maugeri Foundation Research and Care Institute, Pavia, Italy. silvia.scevola@fsm.it
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scevola
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nicoletti
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brenta
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Isernia
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maestri
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faga
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005782:Gels; D006097:Granulation Tissue / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017592:Skin Care / Q000379:methods; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D005782:Gels; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor
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