Welcoming CAMPs

Most clinicians will agree that advancements in technology influence all areas of medicine, oftentimes resulting in significant impact on the delivery of patient care. This is especially true for wound care specialists where diagnostics, dressings and therapies are introduced with a frequency and rapidity that rivals the changes of the seasons. Evolution and change can provide positive outcomes, but these benefits are only realised by providers who stay current by reading the literature, participating in continuing education, and maintaining their clinical knowledge base and skillset.

This issue of the Journal of Wound Care (JWC) highlights one of these evolutionary areas in wound care, the extracellular matrix (ECM). A critical discovery on the road to understanding the physiology of tissue healing has been the identification of the essential role of the ECM. This essential factor bridges the transition from inflammation to proliferation via dynamic reciprocity.¹ Central dogma in patients with compromised ulcers is that they are often deficient in matrix production or function. Brilliant research has demonstrated that these patients may respond to the application of exogenous ECM, and, when applied strategically, these technologies can provide accelerated healing with an associated decrease in complications and hospitalisations, translating to decreased overall financial costs.^2,3