Clinical assessment of a biofilm-disrupting agent for the management of chronic wounds compared with standard of care: A therapeutic approach

Objective. The authors study the use of a biofilm-disrupting wound gel designed for wound management to determine if disrupting chronic wound biofilm would be therapeutically efficacious. Materials and Methods. This prospective, randomized, open-label clinical trial was performed from September 2014 through March 2016. Forty-three patients (22 experimental, 21 control) with chronic, recalcitrant wounds were randomized to a 12-week treatment with a biofilm-disrupting wound gel (experimental) or a broad-spectrum antimicrobial ointment (control). The wound healing rate was assessed by measuring wound size reduction and wound closure rates. Results. Wound size in the experimental group decreased significantly with a 71% reduction in wound area compared with 24% for the control (P < .001). Wound closure was attained in more than half of the patients (14) treated with the experimental product. Fifty-two percent of these patients achieved closure by 12 weeks as opposed to 17% for the control (P < .01). No adverse events related to the experimental product were recorded, but 2 adverse reactions occurred with the control. Conclusions. The combination of the experimental product and wound debridement significantly improved wound healing rates by disrupting the biofilm, which protects multispecies bacteria within a chronic wound. Given the significant wound size reduction and closure rates observed in these long-term, nonhealing wounds, as well as the lack of related serious adverse events, the investigators believe the biofilm-disrupting wound gel to be a safe and effective treatment for recalcitrant chronic wounds.