Timolol may be inexpensive, effective wound treatment

Timolol may be an effective and inexpensive treatment for wound healing, according to a poster presented at AAD VMX 2021.

“Timolol may function at multiple levels to enhance wound healing, including through increased angiogenesis, fibroblast function and reepithelization,” Angelina S. Hwang, BS, of Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote.

The single-center retrospective study included 33 patients with a mean age of 68.8 years whose wounds were treated with timolol, a beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist. Treatment occurred in the department of dermatology at Mayo Clinic Arizona between January 2014 and November 2017.

Wound indications were vascular, inflammatory, postsurgical/trauma, sclerosis, malignancy, drug and unknown. Eleven patient had chronic wounds, and 66.7% of all wounds occurred on patients’ legs. All wounds in the study persisted for a mean period of 176.4 days before timolol treatment, with topical timolol treatment occurring one to three times daily for a mean of 119.9 days.

The authors determined outcomes based on physician and/or patient inspection of the wounds. Partial or complete response to timolol occurred in 90.9% of all patients and 100% of patients with chronic wounds.

“As ulcers are the costliest skin condition in the United States, inexpensive treatments that expedite wound healing are needed,” Hwang and colleagues wrote. “Topical timolol is an inexpensive medication, with a 5 mL solution priced at $6 to $35 without insurance.”