Chronic wound

A chronic wound is a wound that does not heal in an orderly set of stages and in a predictable amount of time the way most wounds do; wounds that do not heal within three months are often considered chronic.^[1] Chronic wounds seem to be detained in one or more of the phases of wound healing. For example, chronic wounds often remain in the inflammatory stage for too long.^[2][3] To overcome that stage and jump-start the healing process, a number of factors need to be addressed such as bacterial burden, necrotic tissue, and moisture balance of the whole wound.^[4] In acute wounds, there is a precise balance between production and degradation of molecules such as collagen; in chronic wounds this balance is lost and degradation plays too large a role.^[5][6]

Chronic wounds may never heal or may take years to do so. These wounds can cause patients severe emotional and physical stress and create a significant financial burden on patients and the whole healthcare system.^[7]

Acute and chronic wounds are at opposite ends of a spectrum of wound-healing types that progress toward being healed at different rates.^[8]