Hydrogels and Wound Healing: Current and Future Prospects.
Varshan GoundenMoganavelli SinghPublished in: Gels (Basel, Switzerland) (2024)
The care and rehabilitation of acute and chronic wounds have a significant social and economic impact on patients and global health. This burden is primarily due to the adverse effects of infections, prolonged recovery, and the associated treatment costs. Chronic wounds can be treated with a variety of approaches, which include surgery, negative pressure wound therapy, wound dressings, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. However, each of these strategies has an array of limitations. The existing dry wound dressings lack functionality in promoting wound healing and exacerbating pain by adhering to the wound. Hydrogels, which are commonly polymer-based and swell in water, have been proposed as potential remedies due to their ability to provide a moist environment that facilitates wound healing. Their unique composition enables them to absorb wound exudates, exhibit shape adaptability, and be modified to incorporate active compounds such as growth factors and antibacterial compounds. This review provides an updated discussion of the leading natural and synthetic hydrogels utilized in wound healing, details the latest advancements in hydrogel technology, and explores alternate approaches in this field. Search engines Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science were utilized to review the advances in hydrogel applications over the last fifteen years.
Keyphrases
- wound healing
- global health
- public health
- healthcare
- end stage renal disease
- minimally invasive
- ejection fraction
- chronic pain
- current status
- drug delivery
- liver failure
- mental health
- palliative care
- peritoneal dialysis
- pain management
- stem cells
- surgical site infection
- high resolution
- risk assessment
- risk factors
- prognostic factors
- neuropathic pain
- spinal cord injury
- patient reported outcomes
- cell therapy
- high density
- percutaneous coronary intervention
- spinal cord