{Reference Type}: Case Reports
{Title}: Benefits of negative pressure wound therapy with instillation in the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds: a case series.
{Author}: Latouche V;Devillers H;
{Journal}: J Wound Care
{Volume}: 29
{Issue}: 4
{Year}: Apr 2020 2
{Factor}: 2.066
{DOI}: 10.12968/jowc.2020.29.4.248
{Abstract}: OBJECTIVE: Impaired wound healing can lead to hard-to-heal wounds, which impact on patients, clinicians and healthcare systems. Negative pressure wound therapy with instillation and dwell time (NPWTi-d) was developed to manage wounds through early-stage cleansing. This study describes the use of NPWTi-d to help manage hard-to-heal wounds in patients with risk factors for impaired wound healing.
METHODS: In this case series, patients were treated between October 2015 and March 2018 at a community hospital in western France. Normal saline solution was instilled into wounds with a dwell time of 10 minutes, followed by the application of negative pressure at -75 mmHg to -125 mmHg for 2-3 hours. If needed, patients were given appropriate oral or intravenous antibiotic treatment in conjunction with NPWTi-d and subsequent wound therapies.
RESULTS: A total of 15 patients participated in the study. Mean age was 81±13 years, and 12 (80%) patients were malnourished with blood albumin levels of 30.1±5.7g/l, and 12 (80%) patients were given antibiotic therapy. The mean duration of NPWTi-d was 19.4±20.8 days, with a mean number of dressing changes of 6.6±6.8; the duration of NPWTi-d and the number of dressing changes for pressure ulcers was three times that of the other wound types. The mean cost of NPWTi-d in this study was €1643.40±€1709.13. Overall, NPWTi-d provided early-stage wound cleansing and helped achieve adequate granulation tissue formation and progression to the next phase of wound healing.
CONCLUSIONS: In these cases, NPWTi-d was a beneficial and effective method of treating hard-to-heal wounds that were resistant to traditional treatments, yielding favourable clinical outcomes.