Wound bed score and its correlation with healing of chronic wounds.

Adequate wound bed preparation is essential for healing of leg ulcers, and consists of controlling exudate and edema, decreasing the bacterial burden, promoting healthy granulation tissue, and removing necrotic tissue. Currently, there is no classification system for wound bed preparation that has predictive value. Based on past work and the authors' experience, we have now developed and tested a new classification system that scores the following parameters: healing edges (wound edge effect), presence of eschar, greatest wound depth/granulation tissue, amount of exudate amount, edema, peri-wound dermatitis, peri-wound callus and or fibrosis, and a pink/red wound bed.

Clinical classification of bioengineered skin use and its correlation with healing of diabetic and venous ulcers.

Background: Chronic wounds are being treated with bioengineering skin constructs. Yet, there is no standard way of assessing these wounds. We developed a classification system to evaluate wounds after construct application.

Debridement performance index and its correlation with complete closure of diabetic foot ulcers.

In recent years there has been wider acceptance of aggressive surgical debridement as a means to accelerate closure of diabetic foot ulcers. In a clinical trial by Steed et al.1 involving the use of a topically applied growth factor, thorough surgical debridement of surrounding callus, necrotic ulcer bed, and undermined ulcers' edges was associated with greater incidence of healing and effectiveness of the therapeutic agent.