DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS OF WOUND INFECTION BY MEASUREMENT OF A PHOSPHOLIPASE A2 IN WOUND FLUID

• US 20070231380A1
• Filed: 12/11/2006
• Published: 10/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Woundchek Laboratories (US), Inc.
• Original Assignee: Woundchek Laboratories (US), Inc.
• Inventors: Clark, Rachael, Watt, Paul, Trotter, Patrick, Shah, Faraia, Cullen, Breda
• Granted Patent: US 8,685,639 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 424/455
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2333/918 Carboxylic ester hydrolases (3.1.1)
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/573 for enzymes or isoenzymes

Abstract

The present invention relates to the diagnosis, prognosis and/or treatment of wound infection by testing wound fluid for the presence of a marker which is present in an amount which is indicative of infection. The marker may be high molecular weight phospholipase A₂ (cPLA₂) or a marker which is correlated with cPLA₂.

Claims

1. A method of diagnosing or prognosing wound infection, comprising testing a wound fluid for the presence or level of cPLA₂ or of a marker which is indicative of the presence or level of cPLA₂.

6. The method, according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of cPLA₂ or the marker indicative of the presence or level of cPLA₂ is measured.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the method is performed on wound fluid in situ.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the method is an in vitro method that is performed on a sample of wound fluid that has been removed from the body.

2. (canceled)

3. (canceled)

4. (canceled)

5. (canceled)

9. (canceled)

10. (canceled)

11. A method for the treatment of a mammalian wound comprising the steps of measuring the presence or level of cPLA₂ or a marker which is indicative of the presence or level of cPLA₂ of a wound fluid collected from the wound, and applying an antimicrobial wound dressing to the wound selectively if the said presence or level is indicative of wound infection.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising applying a wound dressing that is substantially free of antimicrobial agents to the wound if the said presence or level is indicative of absence of wound infection.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the method comprises sampling the wound fluid at intervals, for example at intervals of from 1 hour to 24 hours, and selecting an antimicrobial or non-antimicrobial dressing to treat the wound at said intervals in response to the measured presence or level of cPLA₂ or a marker which is indicative of the presence or level of cPLA₂.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the antimicrobial wound dressing is applied to the wound if said level is increasing over time, and the non-antimicrobial dressing is applied to the wound if said level is decreasing over time.

15. The method, according to claim 11, wherein wound fluid is tested for the presence or level of cPLA₂α

, cPLA₂β

or cPLA₂γ

.

16. The method, according to claim 11, wherein the marker which is indicative of the presence or level of high molecular weight cPLA2 is ERK1/2, P38 MAP kinase, a S100 protein, a GTP binding protein, an annexin, calmodulin, PGE1 or fatty acid synthase.