Key Clinical Summary

• Four First-to-Podium presentations at SAWC Spring 2026 reported new data in diabetic foot ulcers, pressure injury detection, biomaterials, and advanced wound care reimbursement.

• A randomized trial found equivalent skin graft uptake with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and negative pressure wound therapy after split-thickness skin grafting for diabetic foot ulcers. 

• Separate studies suggested near-infrared spectroscopy may improve early pressure injury detection, jellyfish-derived collagen type 0 may support wound healing in a diabetic mouse model, and Medicare data challenge the idea that FDA product classification predicts CAMP performance. 

At the 2026 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Spring in Charlotte, North Carolina, four press releases highlighted emerging evidence across wound healing, pressure injury assessment, diabetic foot ulcer reconstruction, and advanced wound care product evaluation. The reports describe findings presented as First-to-Podium research and point to practical questions around diagnosis, product selection, and individualized treatment planning. 

Study Findings / Main News

One randomized controlled trial led by Debarati Chattopadhyay, MS, MCh, Professor at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, enrolled 90 patients with complex diabetic foot ulcers undergoing standardized debridement followed by split-thickness skin grafting. Patients were randomized to negative pressure wound therapy for 5 postoperative days (n=44) or 10 standardized hyperbaric oxygen sessions (n=46). Mean graft uptake on postoperative day 5 was 86% in both groups, and by day 14 uptake was 67% with NPWT versus 66% with HBOT; neither difference was statistically significant. Partial graft loss and complete graft failure rates were also similar. 

In pressure injury management, Charles Andersen, MD, of Madigan Army Medical Center reported an observational study of 100 high-risk patients, including 87 inpatients and 13 outpatients. Near-infrared spectroscopy identified tissue compromise in 83% of patients, prompted NIRS-directed care changes in 65% based on heel assessments and 46% based on sacral assessments, and showed a 92.3% detection rate in outpatients. The release also reported complete alignment between positive clinical assessments and NIRS findings in patients with high-risk Braden scores below 13. 

Preclinical biomaterials data from Andrew Mearns Spragg, PhD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Jellagen Ltd, compared two collagen type 0 formulations derived from barrel jellyfish with film dressing and bovine collagen in a db/db mouse full-thickness excisional wound model. Both CT0 formulations achieved significantly higher wound closure than film dressing from day 12 to day 49 and were comparable with bovine collagen, while histology suggested increased re-epithelialization, lower inflammation, and more complete granulation than bovine collagen. 

A separate Medicare analysis presented by William H. Tettelbach, MD, Chief Medical Officer at RestorixHealth, evaluated 2.65 million lower-extremity diabetic ulcer episodes and more than 745,000 venous leg ulcer episodes from 2016 to 2024. Across matched cohorts, CAMP use outperformed standard of care alone, but differences among PMA, 510(k), and Section 361 products were largely non-significant, suggesting FDA regulatory category did not meaningfully predict clinical outcomes. 

Clinical Implications

For clinicians, the diabetic foot ulcer trial may support more flexible postoperative planning after skin grafting, particularly where access, mobility, or infrastructure limits one adjunctive option. The findings do not establish superiority of HBOT or NPWT, but they do suggest that either may be selected without an obvious penalty in short-term graft uptake based on the reported data. 

The NIRS report is relevant to early pressure injury detection, especially because the release explicitly notes limitations of erythema-based visual assessment in patients with darker skin hues. If validated longitudinally, a physiology-based tool could help standardize earlier intervention and reduce diagnostic inequities. 

The CT0 findings remain preclinical, but they add to interest in non-mammalian biomaterials for chronic wound care. Meanwhile, the CAMP analysis raises a policy-relevant issue: reimbursement frameworks based on regulatory pathway may not reflect real-world performance, at least in the large Medicare data set described in the release. 

Expert Commentary

“These findings challenge the assumption that FDA regulatory category is a reliable proxy for clinical performance,” said William H. Tettelbach, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FUHM, MAPWCA, CWSP, Chief Medical Officer at RestorixHealth. He added that, in this Medicare analysis, CAMPs improved outcomes versus standard care “regardless of whether the product was regulated through Section 361, 510(k), or PMA,” and said access should be guided by “clinical need and demonstrated outcomes.” 

SAWC Spring 2026 press releases point to a wound care field increasingly focused on comparative effectiveness, earlier physiologic detection, and outcome-driven product evaluation. Across these reports, the common theme is pragmatic: clinicians may need better evidence to tailor care based on patients, not assumptions.