The Relationship Between Autoimmune Disease and Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs on Wound Healing

Objective: To evaluate the role of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) on wound healing outcomes of patients with autoimmune disease at our tertiary wound care center. Approach: Retrospective review of patients presenting to our wound care center between 2014 and 2018 with both chronic wounds and a history of inflammatory disease. Patient demographics, comorbid conditions, and progression to complete wound healing were compared between those taking DMARDs or not at the time of wound onset. The study adheres to the STROBE statement. Results: Fifty-eight patients with a total of 296 wounds were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were taking at least one DMARD at wound onset in 217 (73.3%) of these wounds. The average number of DMARDs at wound onset was 1.5 (standard deviation 1.2). Two hundred ten wounds progressed to heal (70.9%), with a median time to healing of 229.5 days (interquartile range 71.0-490.0). Of the 210 wounds that healed, patients taking at least one DMARD had a significantly shorter time to healing relative to patients who were not on any DMARDs (median 190.5 days vs. 340.0 days, p = 0.0156). Innovation: Characterizing wound healing outcomes at a tertiary hospital with a dedicated wound care center and analyzing the role of DMARDs in wound healing progression. Conclusions: The median time to healing in the studied cohort was 229.5 days, which is much longer than the healing time for noninfected diabetic foot ulcers at our institution. These findings highlight the wound healing challenges posed by underlying autoimmune disease.¹⁰.