Initial experience with negative-pressure wound therapy with instillation in complex wounds

ABSTRACT Objective: to report the initial experience with Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy with instillation in infected or contaminated complex wounds. Methods: the negative-pressure wound therapy with instillation used was V.A.C. Ulta with Veraflo instillation (Kinetic Concepts, Inc). The mode of operation was continuous with negative pressure set at 125 mmHg for two hours and instillation between the pauses. The instillation time was 20 minutes (contact time of the topical agent with the wound) and the instilled substance was 0.9% normal saline. After adequate preparation of the wound, it was covered with graft or flap. Results: ten patients with complex or contaminated wounds were operated on. The mean number of NPWTi changes was 1.4, the mean number of surgeries was 2.4, the interval until complete wound coverage was 6.3 days, and the interval up to the time of discharge was 11.4 days. Conclusion: the comparison of the negative-pressure wound therapy with instillation with two previous studies (historical control) evidenced a shorter hospitalization time, favoring TPNi. This study had an initial character, making it necessary to conduct a randomized and controlled trial to confirm the efficacy of this therapy and verify its cost-effectiveness.