Aim: ” THE USE OF NEGATIVE PRESSURE WOUND THERAPY IN FOOT INFECTIONS IN DIABETICS & EFFECT ON DURATION OF ANTIBIOTIC THERAPY”
Method: ” Negative pressure wound therapy has been used extensively for the past few years for wound bed preparation and in some cases for wound closure. We took a subset of diabetic patients with limb/life threatening foot infections. We subdivided them into those with peripheral arterial disease (ABI <0.8 or > 1.3) and those without (ABI between 08.-1.3). All patients were debrided along anatomical lines and NPWT started within 48-72 hours. Our aim was to analyze the effect of NPWT on wound bed preparation in the diabetic foot and on the duration of antibiotic therapy.”
Results / Discussion: ”Average duration of therapy was 1.78 weeks. Out of 37 patients, 18 had Peripheral Arterial Disease. 32 patients had complete closure of wounds over an average period of 3 months. 2 patients with PAD did not close completely with wound care and needed either further surgical intervention or in one case went for lower limb amputation. Three patients died during the study.
Conclusion: ” Keeping WBP as the end point, NPWT definitely helped in the same with the average duration of complete granulation being 1.78 weeks. Patients with PAD needed longer duration of NPWT. At this point we found it unnecessary to continue antibiotics in all patients and thereby reduced duration of antibiotic therapy.”