Stimulated healing of recalcitrant wounds by topical application of enriched cell culture medium: a clinical report.

Abstract

This study was designed to test the efficacy of enriched cell culture medium as a wound dressing. The rationale was to create within the wound space an optimal microenvironment, conducive to cellular proliferation, vascular granulation tissue formation, and epithelialization. This study was performed on various wounds that failed to respond to previous conventional treatments.A total of 288 wounds were within the inclusion criteria, with only contaminated and neoplastic wounds excluded. Most of the patients (80 percent) were ambulatory, and the wounds were examined by the attending physician once every 7 to 14 days at an outpatient clinic. The remaining 20 percent of patients were admitted to the study while hospitalized. Cell culture medium MCDB, supplemented with insulin, thyroxin, and growth hormone, was gelled. The gel was self-applied once a day to freshly washed wounds, covered with a gauze pad, and anchored with netting. Healing started 7 to 14 days after the initiation of treatment with enriched cell culture medium. However, the criterion for success of the treatment was determined on complete wound closure, which was achieved in 189 of 288 wounds (65.6 percent). Wound closure was correlated with the initial wound volume, stage, and origin. The average time required for closure of wounds caused by systemic pathologies (n = 181) and those based on regional status (n = 107) were 12.0 and 4.4 weeks, respectively, compared with 290 and 10.3 weeks of the previous conventional treatment. In 19 extensive wounds, when vascularized granulation tissue was established, a successful surgical closure was attained. Most wounds of patients who did not continue the enriched cell culture medium treatment (34.4 percent) manifested reduced wound volume, ranging from 11 to 98 percent of initial volume. Discontinuation of treatment was associated with difficulties in reaching the clinic for the weekly examination, rather than for reasons directly related to the treatment itself, and occurred significantly earlier during the treatment period.Thus, enriched cell culture medium was effective in stimulating wound healing in recalcitrant wounds. The healing was rapid with minimum scarring and pain. No side effects or allergic reactions were reported or observed.