Allogeneic fibroblasts vs conventional debridement after successful endovascular interventions for treating chronic ulcers induced by peripheral artery disease.

Introduction: Fibroblasts are stromal and connective tissue cells that play crucial roles in the intracellular matrix and granulation tissue synthesis during tissue proliferation. They are also responsible for epithelialization and healing of skin lesions.

Aim: Our aim was to compare the use of allogeneic fibroblasts with conventional debridement after successful endovascular interventions (EVIs) for the treatment of chronic ulcers induced by peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Materials and methods: A total of 116 participants with chronic ulcers due to PAD were randomly assigned, after successful EVI, to receive either allogeneic fibroblasts (study group; n = 58) or conventional debridement (control group; n = 58) for treatment of the ulcers. The participant data were collected over 1 year of follow-up to compare the effectiveness of both methods.

Results: The mean (SD) duration of initial and complete healing of chronic ulcers after successful EVI was shorter in the allogeneic fibroblast group (2.59 [0.53] and 5.04 [0.58] months, respectively) than in the controls (3.56 [0.44] and 5.8 [0.35] months, respectively; P <⁠0.001 for all). A correlation analysis showed a moderately significant correlation between the healing of chronic ulcers (both initial and complete) after successful EVI and the use of allogeneic fibroblasts.

Conclusions: Allogeneic fibroblasts are an effective and noninvasive option for the treatment of chronic PAD-induced ulcers after successful EVI. The duration of initial and complete healing was significantly shorter in the allogeneic fibroblast group than in the conventional debridement group.