Introduction: In general, chronic wounds are colonized by bacteria; however, when microorganisms start to multiply at higher levels, wounds can become infected, causing prolongation of the inflammatory phase and retardation of collagen synthesis and epithelialization.
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of infection in venous ulcers after 12 weeks of treatment with autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and determine global white blood cell counts.
Materials and methods: This case series study involved a sequential sample of 17 patients with venous ulcers treated with PRP for 12 weeks. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was performed using the McNemar test and χ² test.
Results: At baseline, 10 patients (58.8%) had wound infection. During the sixth week of treatment with PRP, only 3 patients (17.6%) continued to exhibit wound infection. After 12 weeks of PRP treatment, only 1 patient (5.9%) continued to exhibit wound infection. McNemar and χ² tests used to assess the presence of infection in the intervention group produced a P value of .0039 for a comparison of baseline and week 6 and a P value of .0078 for a comparison of baseline and week 12. These results demonstrated significant differences from baseline at both 6 weeks and 12 weeks of treatment, with greater significance at 12 weeks. There was no relationship between global white blood cell count and the presence of infection.
Conclusion: After intervention with PRP, 94% of patients experienced improvement concerning the infection of ulcers.