Challenges to Protocols in Negative Pressure Wound Therapy
Challenges to Protocols in Negative Pressure Wound Therapy
Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is a topical treatment used to promote healing in acute and chronic wounds by applying negative pressure to the wound bed. The most widely used NPWT product in the United States and Canada is Vacuum-Assisted Closure (V.A.C. Therapy™, KCI Inc., San Antonio, Tex). This article briefly reviews the literature on V.A.C. pressure levels, discusses the conventional pressure settings that are commonly used with the V.A.C., and explores new literature that challenges commonly recommended pressure settings associated with use of the V.A.C.
Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is a topical treatment used to promote healing in acute and chronic wounds by applying negative pressure to the wound bed. Providing vacuum pressure to the wound facilitates the drainage of excessive fluid and debris. The most widely used NPWT product in the United States and Canada is Vacuum-Assisted Closure (V.A.C. Therapy™, KCI Inc., San Antonio, Tex). This article briefly reviews the literature on V.A.C. pressure levels and discusses the conventional pressure settings that are commonly used with the V.A.C. A new article by Wackenfors et al. explores microvascular blood flow to an inguinal wound in pigs during V.A.C. therapy and challenges commonly recommended pressure settings associated with use of the V.A.C. The recommendations of Wackenfors et al. support early Russian literature and a new NPWT product, the Versatile 1™ (BlueSky Medical, LaCosta, Calif), which uses lower pressure levels than the levels recommended by the V.A.C. manufacturer for use with its device. The Wackenfors et al. article is an important step forward in understanding how NPWT works and lays the foundation for ways to better define treatment protocols, such as pressure intensity, duration of treatment, and treatment intervals. The complexity of wound healing necessitates that these unresolved issues be addressed through further research and clinical correlation if clinicians are to optimize the negative pressure modality.
Abstract
Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is a topical treatment used to promote healing in acute and chronic wounds by applying negative pressure to the wound bed. The most widely used NPWT product in the United States and Canada is Vacuum-Assisted Closure (V.A.C. Therapy™, KCI Inc., San Antonio, Tex). This article briefly reviews the literature on V.A.C. pressure levels, discusses the conventional pressure settings that are commonly used with the V.A.C., and explores new literature that challenges commonly recommended pressure settings associated with use of the V.A.C.
Introduction
Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is a topical treatment used to promote healing in acute and chronic wounds by applying negative pressure to the wound bed. Providing vacuum pressure to the wound facilitates the drainage of excessive fluid and debris. The most widely used NPWT product in the United States and Canada is Vacuum-Assisted Closure (V.A.C. Therapy™, KCI Inc., San Antonio, Tex). This article briefly reviews the literature on V.A.C. pressure levels and discusses the conventional pressure settings that are commonly used with the V.A.C. A new article by Wackenfors et al. explores microvascular blood flow to an inguinal wound in pigs during V.A.C. therapy and challenges commonly recommended pressure settings associated with use of the V.A.C. The recommendations of Wackenfors et al. support early Russian literature and a new NPWT product, the Versatile 1™ (BlueSky Medical, LaCosta, Calif), which uses lower pressure levels than the levels recommended by the V.A.C. manufacturer for use with its device. The Wackenfors et al. article is an important step forward in understanding how NPWT works and lays the foundation for ways to better define treatment protocols, such as pressure intensity, duration of treatment, and treatment intervals. The complexity of wound healing necessitates that these unresolved issues be addressed through further research and clinical correlation if clinicians are to optimize the negative pressure modality.
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