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Case Series/Study
The high economic and human cost of wound care has been well documented within the literature over recent years. Furthermore, patients with a wound may experience a universally profound negative impact on their wellbeing (1). Adoption of advanced wound therapies with proven clinical effectiveness is one way of challenging the rising pressure on health care resources (2). The appropriate use of advanced wound therapies can improve patient outcomes, duration of treatment and cut health care costs related to wound management (3). Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT)* is one of the most effective and widely used interventions for challenging wounds and is commonly used for a variety of wound indications (4, 5).
Methods:
Five, retrospective anonymised case studies of varying wound indications are presented from a large trauma hospital in the UK with the primary objective of demonstrating how NPWT can facilitate earlier discharge to community services for continuation of care, support patients at end of life when a wound is present, manage challenging wound symptoms.
Results:
Across all five cases, NPWT was reported as being efficient and effective in managing highly challenging wounds and supporting complex patient management within an acute care setting. These case studies demonstrate how versatile NPWT is when used in conjunction with gauze, foam, or a combination of both fillers to treat different challenging wound indications.
Discussion:
The case series demonstrates how NPWT is used in an acute care setting to manage symptoms and challenges presented by a variety of wound indications. The cases demonstrate how NPWT can be used effectively to achieve short term goals and accelerate healing trajectories, with care continuing after discharge. Without the intervention of NPWT, these wounds could potentially become more challenging to manage in terms of time and resources, and possibly have a detrimental effect to the patients’ quality of life.
Trademarked Items: *RENASYS™ Negative Pressure Wound Therapy System, Smith and Nephew, Hull, UK
References: 1. McCaughan D, Sheard L, Cullum N, Dumville J, Chetter I. Patients' perceptions and experiences of living with a surgical wound healing by secondary intention: A qualitative study. Int J Nurs Stud. 2018;77:29-38.
2. Guest JF, Ayoub N, McIlwraith T, Uchegbu I, Gerrish A, Weidlich D, et al. Health economic burden that different wound types impose on the UK's National Health Service. Int Wound J. 2017;14(2):322-30.
3. Apelqvist J, Willy C, Fagerdahl AM, Fraccalvieri M, Malmsjö M, Piaggesi A, et al. EWMA Document: Negative Pressure Wound Therapy. J Wound Care. 2017;26(Sup3):S1-s154.
4. Borys S, Hohendorff J, Frankfurter C, Kiec-Wilk B, Malecki MT. Negative pressure wound therapy use in diabetic foot syndrome-from mechanisms of action to clinical practice. Eur J Clin Invest. 2019;49(4):e13067.
5. Brownhill VR, Huddleston E, Bell A, Hart J, Webster I, Hardman MJ, et al. Pre-Clinical Assessment of Single-Use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy During In Vivo Porcine Wound Healing. Adv Wound Care (New Rochelle). 2021;10(7):345-56.