Examining the effect of wound cleansing on the microbiome of venous stasis ulcers. Issue 5 (15th May 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ernlund, Amanda W.; Moffatt, Lauren T.; Timm, Collin M.; Zudock, Kristina K.; Howser, Craig W.; Blount, Kianna M.; Alkhalil, Abdulnaser; Shupp, Jeffrey W.; Karig, David K.
• Is Part Of: Wound repair and regeneration. Volume 29:Issue 5(2021)
• Page Start: 766
• Page End: 776
• Publication Date: 2021-05-15
• Subjects: 16S sequencing -- microbiome -- venous stasis ulcers -- wound treatment; Wound healing -- Periodicals; Regeneration (Biology) -- Periodicals; 617.14
• DOI: 10.1111/wrr.12926
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1067-1927

Abstract

Abstract: Common treatment for venous leg wounds includes topical wound dressings with compression. At each dressing change, wounds are debrided and washed; however, the effect of the washing procedure on the wound microbiome has not been studied. We hypothesized that wound washing may alter the wound microbiome. To characterize microbiome changes with respect to wound washing, swabs from 11 patients with chronic wounds were sampled before and after washing, and patient microbiomes were characterized using 16S rRNA sequencing and culturing. Microbiomes across patient samples prior to washing were typically polymicrobial but varied in the number and type of bacterial genera present. Proteus and Pseudomonas were the dominant genera in the study. We found that washing does not consistently change microbiome diversity but does cause consistent changes in microbiome composition. Specifically, washing caused a decrease in the relative abundance of the most highly represented genera in each patient cluster. The finding that venous leg ulcer wound washing, a standard of care therapy, can induce changes in the wound microbiome is novel and could be potentially informative for future guided therapy strategies.