Work

Real‐world outcomes of acellular fish skin grafts for chronic wounds: A retrospective analysis of effectiveness and costs

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Chronic wounds (CW) are a major public health problem. Acellular fish skin grafts (AFSG) are increasingly used in advanced wound care, but data on their effectiveness and costs in real‐world settings are scarce. We therefore retrospectively analysed the wound surface area (WSA), pain scores, and AFSG‐related costs in patients with CW over a 12‐week follow‐up period. In this single‐centre observational study, we analysed two datasets of 34 (full dataset) and 22 (WSA‐dataset) CW patients treated with AFSG in a university hospital. Of 34 AFSG‐treated patients (mean age 75.9 ± 11.4 years, 44.0% females) with 50 CW of various aetiologies (median ulcer duration 32 weeks), 66.6% experienced pain improvement at 12 weeks. Of 22 patients, 19 (86.4%) showed a mean reduction in WSA of −60.7% ± 143.8% ( p = 0.0025); 36.4% of CW were healed. AFSG‐related costs were 1232.3 EUR/patient and 130.4 EUR/reduced cm 2 ( n = 22), which was 6.5 times more cost‐effective compared to previous study results using living cellular skin substitutes. During 12 weeks of follow‐up in a real‐world setting, AFSG resulted in reduced WSA in most patients, improved pain in two‐thirds, and healed CW in one‐third. AFSG may be more cost‐effective than other products, but prospective head‐to‐head comparisons are needed.

Source: Wound Repair and Regeneration

DOI: 10.1111/wrr.70019

Authors: Pavlo Dinter, Lina Weiss, Alexander A. Navarini, Simon M. Mueller

Institution: University Hospital of Basel

Language: English

Topic: Wound Healing and Treatments

Subfield: Rehabilitation

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,750