Chronic wounds cause prolonged patient suffering, increased complication risks, and reduced quality of life. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) potentially offer non-invasive detection and monitoring of wound complications. This systematic literature review aimed to determine characteristics of VOCs identified in human acute and chronic wounds. A systematic search across three databases using OVID SP was conducted. Data was extracted using a standardised form with risk of bias assessed via QUADAS-2. Of the 690 screened reports, 11 were included (6 acute, 4 chronic and 1 study for both types) with various sample types. Seven studies reported distinctive VOC counts (range 3-189), identifying 105 unique VOCs overall. A total of 16 VOCs appeared in two studies, one appeared in three studies, 6 in acute wounds only, 2 in chronic wounds only and 9 in both wound types. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry was the predominant detection method, with a wide range of columns and methods applied. Evidence indicates VOCs can differentiate between infected and non-infected wounds, signifying diagnostic potential. However, significant heterogeneity across most domains of interest and limited data necessitate further research to establish clinical utility. The identification of common VOCs across studies provides promising groundwork for developing standardised VOC profiling in wound assessment.
Whitfield et al. (2026) studied this question.