Use of diagnostics in wound management

Purpose of review Wound healing research has progressed impressively over the past years. New insights into the pathogenesis of different chronic wounds and the study of novel treatment have made wound healing a model disorder and have revealed basic cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying chronic wounds. Although the observation is so obvious and simple, the interpretations by different observers can be quite variable. The interpretations of severity and change in severity by treatment may differ considerably between patient and practitioners. Recent findings In this review we provide comprehensive view on different aspects of wound diagnostic, including clinical measurement, new biomarkers in wound pathology, proteases evaluation, and future noninvasive sensorbased devices. Summary Wound caregivers are in the unique position of being able to observe the wound changes and describe these with knowledge and strict methodology, but also with the wide range of available wound diagnostic devices. The complexity of severity assessment in wound healing is reflected by the multiple clinical scores available. The best objective methods used to evaluate cutaneous tissue repair should have a high specificity and sensitivity and a low inter and intraobserver variation. © 2013 Wolters Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.