The authors reviewed 13 studies published between 2010 and 2020, including 477 patients with chronic wounds such as venous leg ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers, and mixed arterial/venous ulcers.
Their key finding was that the overall weighted mean wound bed temperature was approximately:
31.7°C (n = 395)
From the available data, they proposed that the **normal** wound bed temperature for chronic, non-infected wounds may fall within approximately:
30.2°C to 33.0°C
That is interesting because it reminds us that chronic wound beds are not expected to mirror core body temperature. A temperature around 31–32°C may not necessarily mean the wound is too cold. It may sit within the expected range for a chronic, non-infected wound bed.
But this is where caution matters. This range should not be used as a diagnostic cutoff, at least not yet. A relatively warmer wound may raise questions about inflammation, infection, tissue depth, anatomical location, or local perfusion. A relatively cooler wound may raise questions about impaired blood flow, exposure, or delayed healing conditions.
But temperature should always be interpreted alongside the full clinical picture: wound history, symptoms, perfusion, infection signs, wound depth, location, and measurement method.
For me, the value of this paper is not that it gives a final clinical threshold. The value is that it pushes wound care toward more objective assessment.
Visual inspection will always matter. Clinical reasoning will always matter. But objective physiological measurements may help us ask better questions and track change more consistently.
Promising concept.
Still a hypothesis.
Worth studying further.
Reference
Gethin G, Ivory JD, Sezgin D,Muller H, O’Connor G, Vellinga A. What is the “normal”wound bed temperature? A scoping review and newhypothesis. Wound Rep Reg. 2021;29(5):843–847.
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