Despite the introduction of advanced wound care modalities over the last 15 years, chronic wounds are an increasing problem. Few single options are available for clinicians to treat recalcitrant wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and venous leg ulcers (VLUs). A retrospective, single-center study was conducted at an outpatient wound care center to evaluate the clinical effect of a human cellular repair matrix (h-CRM) on chronic wounds that had failed to heal.

Data from all patients who had received this treatment modality during a period of 2 years were abstracted. Standard care included weekly visits, regular debridement, offloading DFUs, compression for VLUs, and h-CRM for wounds >4 weeks duration. A total of 66 patients (30 male, 36 female, mean age 71.1 [± 8.8] years) received h-CRM treatment for 67 wounds (34 VLUs, 27 DFUs, and six other chronic wounds). The average wound size at baseline was 6.65 (± 9.68) cm2, and the average wound duration before h-CRM treatment was 38 (±70.8) weeks. Fifty (50) patients (74.6%) had failed to heal using other advanced therapies. After 12 weeks of care, 51 of the 67 wounds (76.1%) were healed: 23 of 34 (67.6%) VLUs and 23 of 27 (85.2%) DFUs. Average time to closure in these wounds was 5.8 (±2.5) weeks. No significant differences were found between proportions of VLUs and DFUs healed. No adverse events or recurrences occurred during an average follow-up time of 20.4 months (range 11 to 32 months). Overall, patients received an average of 3.8 applications of h-CRM, and 3.2 applications were used among patients that healed. The study results suggest h-CRM may benefit patients with chronic wounds. Prospective, randomized clinical studies are warranted.

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