Cord Blood Platelet Gel as a Treatment of Occipital Pressure Injuries in Newborns: Report of Two Cases.

Silvia Ferrario,Fabio Mosca,Laura Plevani,Alessia Zorz,Stefano Ghirardello,Gabriele Sorrentino,Riccardo Cavalli,Stefania Villa

doi:10.3390/children8121079

Abstract

Background: A Pressure Ulcer (PU) is a severe event and could create discomfort to newborns. In newborns, one of mostly stricken location by PU is occipital area. Recent studies have highlighted that Cord Blood Platelet Gel (CBPG) might be a better alternative compared to traditional treatment. We report two cases of occipital PU treated with CBPG. Case report: Two male infants showing occipital PU were treated with standard local treatment, but no improvement was observed. After parental informed consent was obtained, CBPG application on PU was performed every 48 h. In these two cases of PU, a fast improvement in healing was observed since the first application of CBPG. The PU healed resulted in a scar after 53 and 50 days (Case 1 and Case 2, respectively) from development. No complications or infections were reported. Conclusions: CBPG contains many angiogenetic and growth factors, these characteristics make it indicated in treating soft tissue injuries. It would seem to be safe and an effective treatment of neonatal PUs reducing the time of the healing and the hospitalization and the infectious risks. Further studies are needed to evaluate long term aesthetic and functional results of PU treated with CBPG.

Highlights

Pressure ulcers (PU) are rarely reported in the neonatal population, with an estimated incidence in infants admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) between 3.7% and
We describe the case of two newborns with occipital Pressure Ulcer (PU) treated with Cord Blood Platelet Gel (CBPG), after the failure of conventional treatment
CBPG units were obtained after centrifugation of allogeneic cord blood un lected from placentas voluntarily donated to the Milano Cord Blood Bank by containing the platelet concentrate were stored in a −80 ◦ C freezer and when necessary for use, under aseptic conditions, the bags were defrosted in a warm water bath at 37 ◦ C

Summary

Introduction

Pressure ulcers (PU) are rarely reported in the neonatal population, with an estimated incidence in infants admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) between 3.7% and. Conventional PU require a longer time to develop than device-related PU and are more common in infants with higher birth weight [4]. A PU is a severe event associated with pain, worse sleep quality, neurobehavioral development, increased length of hospitalization, and increased risk of infection and toxicity due to treatment product absorption [2]. Most of the available products to treat PU are contra-indicated in newborns because of the risk of absorption and toxicity. A platelet gel derived from cord blood (CBPG) was recently obtained and used in regenerative medicine [12,13,14]. We describe the case of two newborns with occipital PU treated with CBPG, after the failure of conventional treatment

Case 1

Case 2

CBPG Preparation

Discussion