The Role of Nutritional Inventions in Wound Care

The nutritional intervention and its role in wound care has been a controversial topic, according to authors of a review recently published in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal.¹ This is the first literature review of mineral and vitamin wound intervention using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines by wound type, according to the review’s authors. 

The authors of this review sought to outline the nutrients and delivery methods used in identified relevant studies, analyze treatment outcomes, and summarize the nutrient effectiveness. They also proposed evidence-based conclusions to improve outcomes of wound healing and increase the consistency of nutritional intervention in wound care.

The researchers looked at 36 studies with a combined total of 2,339 patients that investigated the use of oral, topical, or intravenous (IV) vitamin and/or mineral treatment in many wound types. The wound types were burn wounds (3), pressure ulcers (7), diabetic ulcers (4), venous ulcers (7), digital ulcers (1), skin incisions (9), hypertrophic scars (4), and sinonasal wounds (1). 

Improved outcomes were reported in patients with burn wounds after receiving vitamins A, B1, B6, B12, D, and E and zinc, calcium, copper, magnesium, selenium, and zinc; patients with pressure ulcers who received vitamin C and zinc; patients with diabetic ulcers that received vitamin A, B9, D, and E; patients with venous ulcers who received zinc; and patients with hypertrophic scars that received vitamin E.

The authors concluded that based on the review’s data, the use of specific nutritional interventions may improve certain wound healing and further investigation is needed to draw definitive conclusions. 

Reference:

1. Saeg, Fouad B.S.; Orazi, Rita B.S.; Bowers, Gerald M. B.S.; Janis, Jeffrey E. M.D. Evidence-Based Nutritional Interventions in Wound Care. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000008061