Inflammation Biomarkers and Correlation to Wound Status After Full-Thickness Skin Grafting (Frontiers in Medicine)

Background: A surgical site infection (SSI) is believed to be the result of an exaggerated inflammatory response. Objective: Examine the relationship between clinical status and inflammation biomarkers in full-thickness skin grafting wounds. Methods: Twenty patients planned for facial full-thickness skin grafting were enrolled. A week after surgery, all graft wounds were clinically assessed using a 3-step scale for inflammation (low, moderate, high). All wounds were swabbed for routine microbiological analysis and assessment of numbers of aerobic bacteria. Tie-over dressings from all patients were collected and used for wound fluid extraction and subsequent analysis of MMPs, cytokines, and NF-?B inducing activity. Results: Wounds with a high degree of inflammation contained increased total MMP activity (P