Recent technological advances in the management of chronic wounds: A literature review.

BACKGROUND: Wound treatment comprises a substantial portion of the healthcare budgets in developed countries. Studies suggest that about 50% of patients admitted to hospitals have wounds, while 1%-2% of the general population in the developed world suffers from chronic wounds. Chronic wounds fail to repair themselves within the expected period of 30 days. Technologies have been developed to address challenges encountered during wound care with the aim of alleviating pain, promoting healing, or controlling wound infections. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore the technological improvements that have been made in this field over time. METHODS: To gain insight into the future of wound management, a systematic review of literature on the subject was conducted in scientific databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Medline, and Clinical Trials). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Results indicate that wound dressings have evolved from the traditional cotton gauze to composite materials embedded with appropriate ingredients such as metal-based nanoparticles. Studies on biodegradable dressing materials are also underway to explore their applicability in dressing large and irregular wounds. On the other hand, conventional drugs and traditional formulations for the management of pain, inflammation, infections, and accelerating healing have been developed. However, more research needs to be carried out to address the issue of microbial resistance to drugs. Drugs for managing other ailments also need to be designed in such a way that they can augment wound healing. In addition, it has been demonstrated that a coordinated integration of conventional and traditional medicine can produce laudable results in chronic wound management. CONCLUSION: Accordingly, collaborative efforts and ingenuity of all players in the field can accelerate technological advances in the wound care market to the benefit of the patients.