(CS-058) Use of an All-in-one Dressing and Negative Pressure Wound Therapy on Hard to Heal Wounds

Introduction: Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is widely utilized in wound management.^1-3 However, challenges exist with its use such as maintaining a seal in difficult anatomical locations, controlling exudate, periwound skin management, and pain upon dressing removal. A new, all-in-one, multilayer peel and place dressing (MPPD)* for NPWT has been developed that contains a foam dressing and a hybrid acrylic-silicone drape. Use of this new dressing was assessed in 3 cases with complex wounds.

Methods: Patients and wounds were assessed. The MPPD was applied to the wound followed by NPWT^† initiation. Dressings changes occurred every 7 days. One patient required dressing changes every 3-4 days due to skin maceration and patient non-compliance with offloading. Wounds and periwound skin were reassessed at each dressing change.

Results: Three patients (age range 56-63) presented for care with a diabetic foot ulcer, a stage 3 pressure injury, and surgical wounds. Previous medical histories included diabetes, transmetatarsal amputation, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, and Charcot foot. Dressing applications were easy and quick with each dressing application taking 2 minutes or less. Dressing removal was painless for all 3 patients. The negative pressure seal remained intact throughout the duration of therapy in all patients. Periwound skin remained healthy without any complications. The small diabetic foot ulcer was fully healed after 7 days of NPWT use. Wound size reduction and development of healthy granulation tissue were observed in the other 2 patients with larger, more complex wounds.

Discussion: Use of the new MPPD for NPWT helped reduce common challenges with dressing application, dressing removal, and periwound skin management and improved wound healing outcomes in these 3 patients.