Sampling the skin surface chemistry for diagnosis and prognosis

Guy H. M. Stanley MS, Katie Wang MD, BSc, Patrick Daly MB BCH BAO, Christopher Lau BPharm (Hons) MD, Aoife M. O’Brien MB BCH BAO, Cheryl Hamill, Mark Fear PhD, Fiona M. Wood MBBS FRACS

 

Skin and wound blotting are non-invasive techniques used to sample the skin and wound surface chemistry, whereby a nitrocellulose membrane is applied to an intact or broken cutaneous surface to detect biomarkers. However, there has been no comprehensive review of the evidence for the techniques used and data obtained to date. The primary aim of this study was to review the utilities of surface blotting for the diagnosis and prognosis of physiological, pre-disease, and pathological states. The secondary aim was to summarise the procedural steps. A systematic literature search was conducted on 9 July 2021 using Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar databases. Investigators used McMaster’s Critical Review Form for Quantitative Studies to assess quality, then performed a narrative synthesis reporting according to Preferred Reporting Items … read more