Wound repair and regeneration : official publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the European Tissue Repair Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The use of a polylactide-based copolymer as a temporary skin substitute in deep dermal burns: 1-year follow-up results of a prospective clinical noninferiority trial.
Deep dermal burns can be covered with different kind of materials and techniques; one of them is a polylactide-based temporary skin substitute. The aim of this study was to intraindividually compare its 1-year outcome with the results obtained by use of autologous skin grafts in patients suffering from deep dermal burns. A prospective noninferiority trial was designed in order to assess skin quality and scar formation by use of subjective (Vancouver Scar Scale; Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale) and objective (noninvasive cutometry) burn scar assessment tools. ⋯ Results of objective scar evaluation showed comparable viscoelastic parameters without reaching noninferiority. Overall, the outcome of deep dermal burns covered with a polylactide-based temporary skin substitute revealed satisfactory results in terms of scar formation and skin quality as compared with autologous skin. This paper supports its use in deep dermal burns, where autologous skin donor sites require either to be reserved for coverage of full-thickness skin defects in severe burns or to be saved for reduction of additional morbidity in selected patient collectives.
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Despite intensive research efforts into understanding the pathophysiology of both chronic wounds and scar formation, and the development of wound care strategies to target both healing extremes, problematic wounds in human health care remain a formidable challenge. Although valuable fundamental information regarding the pathophysiology of problematic wounds can be gained from in vitro investigations and in vivo studies performed in laboratory animal models, the lack of concordance with human pathophysiology has been cited as a major impediment to translational research in human wound care. ⋯ Integral to the efficiency of this process is the incorporation of models which can accurately predict clinical success. The aim of this review is to describe the potential advantages and limitations of using clinical companion animals (primarily dogs and cats) as translational models for cutaneous wound healing research by describing comparative aspects of wound healing in these species, common acute and chronic cutaneous wounds in clinical canine and feline patients, and the infrastructure that currently exists in veterinary medicine which may facilitate translational studies and simultaneously benefit both veterinary and human wound care patients.