Synthetic epidermis spray and secondary intention wound healing in adult horses

Though healing time was not improved, not having to worry about proud flesh production is a big plus. Hopefully, these findings will hold up, and these types of products will become more available in the future.
DrO

The effects of a synthetic epidermis spray on secondary intention wound healing in adult horses

PLoS One. 2024 Mar 7;19(3):e0299990. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299990. eCollection 2024.
Authors
Paindaveine Charlotte C 1 , Bihin Benoit 2 , Lepage Olivier M 1
Affiliations

1 Unité ICE-Groupe de Recherche en Médecine et Rééducation des Equidés de Sport (GREMERES), Centre for Equine Health, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Lyon, VetAgro Sup, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
2 Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences (NARILIS), University of Namur, Namur, Belgium.

PMID: 38451976
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299990

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate secondary intention wound healing in the horse’s limbs when treated with the synthetic epidermis spray (Novacika®, Cohesive S.A.S, France) or with a standard bandaging technique.

Methods: Six Standardbred mares were included in the study. Four 2.5 x 2.5 cm full-thickness skin wounds were created on each thoracic limb. Two wounds were located on the dorsoproximal aspect of the cannon bone and the other two at the dorsoproximal aspect of the fetlock. Six hours after creation, wounds were randomly treated with synthetic epidermis spray or standard bandaging. The wounds were assessed every 4 days by gross visual assessment and using a 3D imaging camera. Analysis was performed with a 3D imaging application.

Results: Out of 46 wounds, 22 showed exuberant granulation tissue and were part of the standard bandaging group. Whether the wounds were treated with synthetic epidermis spray or standard bandaging, the time for healing was the same.

Conclusion: The synthetic epidermis spray studied in this model has allowed healing without the production of exuberant granulation tissue but did not reduce the median wound healing time compared to a standard bandaging technique. The synthetic epidermis spray is potentially an interesting alternative for the management of secondary intention wound healing of superficial and non-infected distal limb wounds in adult horses on economical and practical aspects. However, all statistical inference (p-values especially) must be interpreted with caution, given the size of the sample.

Copyright: © 2024 Charlotte C. et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.