Successful surgical closure of infected abdominal wounds following preconditioning with negative pressure wound therapy

Purpose Traditionally, previous wound infection was considered a contraindication to secondary skin closure; however, several case reports describe successful secondary wound closure of wounds “preconditioned” with negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT). Although this has been increasingly applied in daily practice, a systematic analysis of its feasibility has not been published thus far. The aim of this study was to evaluate secondary skin closure in previously infected abdominal wounds following treatment with NPWT. Methods Single-center retrospective analysis of patients with infected abdominal wounds treated with NPWT followed by either secondary skin closure referenced to a group receiving open wound therapy. Endpoints were wound closure rate, wound complications (such as recurrent infection or hernia), and perioperative data (such as duration of NPWT or hospitalization parameters). Results One hundred ninety-eight patients during 2013–2016 received a secondary skin closure after NPWT and were analyzed and referenced to 67 patients in the same period with open wound treatment after NPWT. No significant difference in BMI, chronic immunosuppressive medication, or tobacco use was found between both groups. The mean duration of hospital stay was 30 days with a comparable duration in both patient groups (29 versus 33 days, p = 0.35). Interestingly, only 7.7% of patients after secondary skin closure developed recurrent surgical site infection and in over 80% of patients were discharged with closed wounds requiring only minimal outpatient wound care. Conclusion Surgical skin closure following NPWT of infected abdominal wounds is a good and safe alternative to open wound treatment. It prevents lengthy outpatient wound therapy and is expected to result in a higher quality of life for patients and reduce health care costs.

Primary Transverse Closure Compared to Open Wound Treatment for Primary Pilonidal Sinus Disease in Children

We aimed to compare the outcome of two different operative methods to correct pilonidal sinus disease (PSD) in children, i.e., excision and open wound care (OW) versus excision and primary transverse closure (PC) of the wound. In this retrospective, observational study, we extracted data from the medical records of 56 patients who underwent surgery for PSD at our institution between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2016. To test whether the primary variable, i.e., rate of PSD recurrence, differed between the two surgical groups, a logistic regression model was fitted. Secondary explanatory variables were total length of stay (LOS) at the hospital, complications, sex and age of patients, seniority of the surgeon in charge, and volume of excised specimen. Overall, 32 (57%) children and young adults underwent OW, while 24 (43%) patients were treated by PC. Mean age at operation was 15.5 years in either group. PSD recurred in 12 of 32 (37.5%) children in the OW group and in 3 of 24 (12.5%) children in the PC group (ratio: 0.19, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.03–1.07). Thus, treatment of primary PSD by PC proved superior with respect to PSD recurrence. Moreover, our study did not bring to light any high-grade complications in the PC group, and postoperative pain was minimal. Less invasive treatment approaches for chronic PSD are typically performed in an outpatient setting and offer reduced morbidity, low rates of PSD recurrence, and shortened periods of time to return to work or social activities. More radical operations of PSD should be reserved for recurrent PSD where less invasive approaches have failed several times.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF OCCLUSIVE DRESSING AND OPEN WOUND TREATMENT IN PREVENTION OF SURGICAL SITE INFECTIONS

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are defined as infections of the tissues, organs, or spaces exposed by surgeons during performance of an invasive procedure. Motivation/Background: A lot of expense both with regards to nursing time and dressing material costs is invested in prevention of SSI using occlusive surgical incision site dressing. But to what extent is this beneficial over open wound treatment? In the present study, we have compared the incidence of SSIs in surgical wounds treated with occlusive dressings versus those treated with open wound treatment to find out the same. Method: The study was conducted on 860 patients of General Surgery wards. Patients were categorized under two groups of cases where (1) Dressing was opened after 24 hours and then only open wound treatment by cleaning with Betadine 12 hourly was done till stitch removal and (2) Dressing was opened after 48 hours and then again after every 2 days occlusive dressing was done until stitch removal. Result: A Chi-Square Test was performed to understand if Occlusive dressings have an added advantage over Open Wound Treatment in prevention of SSIs. Conclusion: Occlusive Dressings have no added advantage over Open Wound Treatment in the prevention of SSIs and hence Open wound treatment can be taken as an alternative for occlusive dressings.

Evaluation of Systemic Effects of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Open Wound Treatment in Dogs

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the systemic effect of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) on the treatment of complicated wounds in dogs. Materials and Methods Dogs undergoing open wound treatment were randomly assigned to one of two groups: NPWT (n = 11) or polyurethane foam dressing (n = 11). Rectal temperature, heart rate as well as haematocrit, thrombocytes, leucocyte count, band neutrophils, C-reactive protein (CrP), total protein and albumin were recorded daily from the beginning of therapy (day 0) until day 5, as well as on day 10. The effect of treatment on systemic parameters was evaluated as well as the prognostic power of the individual parameters with regard to successful wound closure. Results A more profound systemic decrease was found in total protein under NPWT. This difference was non-significant. Patients with non-successful closure displayed a non-significant trend towards lower initial leukocyte and thrombocyte counts and significantly higher CrP values on days 4, 5 and 10 (p < 0.05) compared with successfully treated patients. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed an optimal cutoff value of 70.2 mg/L at day 4 (sensitivity 80; specificity of 85.7). Conclusion There might be an increased loss of protein in NPWT-treated patients, which does not affect albumin levels, otherwise no systemic effects were detected compared with the control treatment. The parameter with the best sensitivity and specificity to detect serious complications (no wound closure achieved) was CrP at day 4.

Vergleich offener Wundheilungsverfahren beim Hund

Nolff MC, Albert R, Reese S, Meyer-Lindenberg A. Comparison of negative pressure wound therapy and silver-coated foam dressings in open wound treatment in dogs: a prospective controlled clinical trial. Vet Comp Orthop Traumatol 2018; 31 (4): 229–238. Die vakuumassistierte Wundtherapie (Negative Pressure Wound Therapy, NPWT) hat in den letzten Jahren in der Kleintiermedizin starken Einzug gehalten. In einer prospektiven Studie wurde dieses Verfahren mit der Anwendung eines silberbeschichteten Wundkissens hinsichtlich Wundheilungsrate, bakterieller Besiedelung der Wunde und möglicher Komplikationen verglichen.

Comparison of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy and Silver-Coated Foam Dressings in Open Wound Treatment in Dogs: A Prospective Controlled Clinical Trial

Objectives To evaluate negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) for treatment of complicated wounds in dogs. Study Type Prospective randomized clinical study Materials and Methods Dogs (n = 26) undergoing open-wound treatment were randomly assigned to one of two groups: Group A (n = 13) NPWT; Group B (n = 13) silver-coated foam dressing. Pairs of patients were matched based on wound conformation, localization, and underlying cause and compared in terms of duration of previous treatment, development of wound size (wound planimetry), time to closure, bacterial bio-burden and complications. Wound dressing changes were performed every 3 days during the first 9 days of therapy for both groups. Statistical analysis was performed. Results Pre-treatment signalment and bacterial status were comparable between groups. Total time to closure was significantly (p = 0.018) shorter in Group A (14.2 days) compared with Group B (28.6 days), and wound planimetry on days 3, 6 and 9 showed significant greater reduction in total wound area for Group A at all-time points (p < 0.05). Furthermore, wounds in Group A showed less progression of local infection than did wounds in Group B (p = 0.01). Conclusion NPWT-treated wounds showed faster closure, improved macro-deformation and less local signs of infection.

Retrospective comparison of negative pressure wound therapy and silver-coated foam dressings in open-wound treatment in cats

Objectives The objective of this study was to evaluate negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) for the treatment of complicated wounds in cats. Methods Twenty cats undergoing open-wound treatment in two clinics were classed according to treatment method: NPWT (group A, n = 10) and polyurethane foam dressing (group B, n = 10). Pairs of patients from each group were matched based on wound conformation, localisation and underlying cause. Cats from both groups were compared in terms of duration of previous treatment, time to closure and complications. Results Signalment, duration of previous treatment, antibiotic and antiseptic treatment, and bacterial status were comparable between groups. Total time to wound closure was significantly shorter ( P = 0.046, strong effect size; Cohen d = 0.8) in group A (25.8 days, range 11.0–57.0 days) compared with group B (39.5 days, range 28.0–75.0 days). NPWT-treated wounds suffered fewer complications and became septic less frequently during treatment compared with wounds treated with a foam dressing. The progression of fat tissue necrosis was particularly well controlled under NPWT, resulting in fewer deaths due to this condition in this group. However, although a strong effect of NPWT on the progression of infection, fever and sepsis was detected (Cramer-V 0.5), this difference was not significant. Conclusions and relevance This study demonstrated that time to healing was considerably shorter, and complication rate lower, in NPWT-treated animals compared with foam dressing-treated cats. In particular, the effective management of infection by NPWT emphasises the value of NPWT in the treatment of cats suffering from infected wounds.

Negative pressure wound therapy, silver coated foam dressing and conventional bandages in open wound treatment in dogs

SummaryObjectives: To evaluate negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) for treatment of complicated wounds in dogs.Study type: Retrospective multicentre study.Materials and methods: Dogs (n = 50) undergoing open wound treatment were classified according to treatment method used: bandage (Group A, n = 7), NPWT (Group B, n = 18), and foam dressing (Group C, n = 25). Pairs of patients matched based on wound conformation, localization, and underlying cause were compared between Group A and C (n = 7 pairs) and between groups B and C (n = 18 pairs) in terms of duration of previous treatment, time to closure, and complications.Results: Signalment, antibiotic medications, antiseptic treatment, and bacterial status of wounds were comparable between groups. The duration of previous treatment was significantly higher in patients assigned to Group B (p = 0.04) compared to Group C, while no significant difference was found between groups A and B. Total time to wound closure was significantly shorter in Group C compared to Group A (p = 0.02) and in Group B compared to Group C (p = 0.003). Wounds treated with NPWT suffered significantly less complications (p = 0.008) and were significantly less septic during treatment (p = 0.016) than wounds treated with a foam dressing.Conclusion: This study shows that time to healing was halved in NPWT treated patients compared to foam dressing treated patients, which in turn healed faster than patients treated with conventional bandage, underlining the value of NPWT therapy for the treatment of complicated wounds.

Open-wound treatment for gunshot to the brain

The authors report a case of a gunshot wound to the brain in a 2.5-year-old girl. To treat the uncontrollably elevated intracranial pressure, the patient underwent bilateral decompressive craniectomy and experimental open-wound treatment. She recovered to a good functional level.