Comparative Effectiveness of Two Collagen-based Dressings: Oxidized Regenerated Cellulose (ORC)/collagen/silver-ORC Dressing versus Standard Collagen Extracellular Matrix

Background: Chronic wounds are characterized by impaired tissue physiology that stalls healing. The prevalence of wound chronicity presents various challenges in wound management and healthcare cost-containment.

Purpose: Here we present a comparative effectiveness study to assess the value proposition of two collagen-based wound dressings: oxidized regenerated cellulose (ORC)/collagen/silver-ORC dressing and standard collagen extracellular matrix (ECM) in matched cohorts of patients undergoing treatment for diabetic foot ulcers (DFU).

Methods: Data extracted from the US Wound Registry identified DFUs treated with either dressing and included wounds with complete data records (n = 3230). Thirty-seven variables were considered in propensity score matching to generate a case-matched cohort of 844 wounds (n = 422 wounds per product group).

Results: The ORC/collagen/silver-ORC dressing group yielded a significantly higher percentage of wounds that healed or improved (82% vs. 74.6%; p = 0.096). The standard collagen ECM dressing group yielded a significantly higher percentage of wounds that worsened (15.2% vs. 23.9%; p = 0.0013). The ORC/collagen/silver-ORC dressing group demonstrated a higher percentage of wounds that attained 75-100% granulation at zero depth at 4-, 8-, 12-, and 16-weeks in less time than standard collagen ECM. Median time to 75-100% granulation was 42 days for the ORC/collagen/silver-ORC dressing group versus 60 days for the standard collagen ECM dressing group (p = 0.0109 per a Log Rank test; p = 0.0140 per a Likelihood Ratio Test).

Conclusion: According to our comparative effectiveness study applying real world data, ORC/collagen/silver-ORC dressing appears to afford improved healing and reduced time to granulation relative to standard collagen ECM dressing.