Positive experience
Many studies reinforce how Negative Pressure Wound Therapy not only supports better wound healing, but also provides better experiences for patients and caregivers.
In one survey, Negative Pressure Wound Therapy: improving the patient experience Part 3 of 3, by Upton and Andrews, patients who had NPWT overwhelmingly considered the experience positive5.
In another study6, State-of-the-art treatment of chronic leg ulcers: A randomized controlled trial comparing vacuum-assisted closure (V.A.C.) with modern wound dressings, by Vuerstaek et al, both groups showed a significant increase in quality of life at the end of therapy and a significant decrease in pain scores at the end of follow-up. But importantly: The patients with chronic leg ulcers who used NPWT healed much faster and the costs related to their care were lower.
In yet another study7, The clinical efficacy and cost effectiveness of the vacuum-assisted closure technique in the management of acute and chronic wounds: a randomized controlled trial, by Braakenburg et al, patients with acute and chronic wounds using NPWT not only healed as fast or faster than those given other types of dressings, but NPWT offered the “important advantage [of] comfort for patients and nursing staff.”
The benefit of comfort was further supported by another study8, Impact of gauze-based NPWT on the patient and nursing experience in the treatment of challenging wounds, by Hurd et al. Researchers found that when gauze dressings were used with NWPT, four out of five dressing changes were both pain-free and described by nurses as “easy,” requiring an average of only about 20 minutes to complete.
These studies reinforce how Negative Pressure Wound Therapy not only supports better wound healing, but also provides better experiences for patients and caregivers.