Metalloproteinases in chronic and acute wounds: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

A systematic review and meta‐analysis were undertaken in order to explore the influence of matrix metalloproteinases and their diagnostic methods in chronic and acute wounds. Searches were conducted in the PubMed (Medline) and Embase (Elsevier) databases from inception to late November 2017. We included clinical trials enrolling patients with cutaneous chronic and acute wounds where a validated diagnostic method was employed for metalloproteinases. We excluded in vitro, animal or preclinical studies, nonoriginal articles, and studies without available data for analysis. In addition, references of narrative and systematic reviews were scrutinized for additional articles. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Results revealed that the most frequently determined matrix metalloproteinases were MMP‐2 and MMP‐9, and were found in 54.5% of wounds. MMP‐9 was present in more than 50% of the chronic wounds with a range from 37 to 78%. However, metalloproteinases were found in only 20% of acute wounds, and other types of metalloproteinases were also observed (MMP‐2 and MMP‐3). On the basis of the available evidence, high levels of metalloproteinases have been correlated with significantly delayed wound healing in wounds of a variety of etiologies.