PRP Treatment for Chronic Venous Ulcers: New Research Review

A recent clinical study evaluated 8 patients with chronic venous ulcers for the effectiveness of leukocyte-poor platelet-rich plasma (PRP) compared to saline solution. The results showed that signs of healing in patients treated with PRP occurred faster and were much more evident than in those treated with saline solution.

About Chronic Venous Ulcers

Chronic wounds or ulcers are skin lesions that either don't respond to initial therapy or persist despite appropriate treatment. They also frequently recur, impacting patients' lives at personal, professional, social, and financial levels.

Non-healing ulcers may be categorized as the following:

• Venous
• Arterial
• Diabetic
• Pressure
• Traumatic

Among the types listed above, venous ulcers are the most common on the lower limbs.

The Challenges of Treating Chronic Venous Ulcers

The goal of venous ulcer treatment is to close the wound as quickly as possible .

Conventional therapies include dressings, skin grafting, wound cleansing, infection treatment, and removal of dead or dying tissues. However, certain factors contribute to poor wound healing, including:

• Local causes - infection, inadequate oxygen to the tissue, repeated trauma, presence of debris, or dead or dying tissue
• Systemic diseases - diabetes, immunodeficiency, poor nutrition
• Use of certain medications - corticosteroids

Many chronic ulcers persist and/or recur because conventional therapies can't provide the growth factors necessary to promote proper healing.

But PRP therapy has emerged as a breakthrough approach for the treatment of chronic venous ulcers . PRPs contain a rich variety of growth factors, which play active roles in tissue regeneration.

Platelets may also help prevent infections. Being autologous in nature, PRP treatment is much more cost-effective and protects patients from communicable pathogens .

Clinical Study Shows Superior Effectiveness of PRP in Chronic Venous Ulcers

The eight patients in the present study were at least 80 years old and presented non-healing venous lower limb ulcers. Patients were excluded from the study if their ulcers were due to a cause other than venous insufficiency.

All patients were instructed to wear compression socks over their dressing throughout the day. At each weekly visit, the ulcers were cleaned, treated with PRP or saline, and dressed. The applications continued until wound closure or until one year after the procedure.

Both groups showed improvements in their wounds during the 12 months of treatment. Six patients - 3 in each group - achieved complete healing of their ulcers , while the remaining two patients had fewer ulcers by the end of the study. Much of the healing was attributed to the use of compression socks, which reduces venous blood pooling, and local infection control. Still, the investigators noted faster and better healing with PRP treatment than with the saline solution .

The strength of this study lies in its inclusion of patients who have had a long clinical course (2.5 to 53 years) and large ulcers (0.88-42.0 cm2) . Previous studies have associated these two factors with unfavorable prognosis and complications, such as infections.

However, PRP was still able to significantly reduce these patients' ulcer numbers and sizes, with no adverse effects .

A Long-Lasting Solution for Chronic Venous Ulcers

The advantages of PRP are apparent. It is easy, cost-effective, non-invasive, safe, and much more lasting compared to conventional treatments for chronic venous ulcers.

Patients suffering from chronic ulcers need an effective alternative to conventional therapies. Dr. PRP systems have a patented design that produces high-quality PRP each and every time.

Ready to discover the Dr. PRP difference? Take a look at our PRP kits and PRP centrifuges in our online store.

Questions? Our customer service representatives are ready to help. Contact us today at 844-377-7787 (DR-PRP-US).