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Effect of Advanced Wound Therapies on Fibroblast Proliferation in Acute Wound Fluid

Wound repair is described as a delicately balanced and well-orchestrated progression of events, which ultimately results in healing in the majority of acute cases. However, time taken to complete healing can vary greatly between patients and any alteration in this physiological process could delay healing further. Thus, a wound treatment, which facilitates healing independent of wound type and in patients where healing is compromised or impeded, would be extremely advantageous. Previous studies suggest a beneficial role for biomaterials such as collagen/ORC in modifying the chronic wound environment; however, their effect on the acute wound environment is unknown. While it is generally accepted that acute wounds heal at an optimum rate due to a positive wound environment, we wanted to determine if current advanced wound healing treatments could augment or impact this healing rate. In this study we evaluated the effect of advanced wound therapies in the presence of acute wound fluid on human dermal fibroblast proliferation. We hypothesize that an enhanced effect on fibroblast proliferation in the presence of acute wound fluid may be indicative of a beneficial effect in the treatment of acute wounds. Results demonstrate that of the wound treatments tested only collagen/ORC containing therapies exhibited a positive effect on fibroblast proliferation in the presence of acute wound fluid. We conclude, therefore, that collagen/ORC biomaterials, already shown to be beneficial in the treatment of chronic wounds, may also be a valuable therapy in the treatment of acute wounds.