Abstract
Background: Negative-pressure wound therapy with instillation and dwell time（NPWT i-d）became a common treatment for chronic wounds after the development of V.A.C ULTA® . NPWT i-d shortens the length of hospital stay and facilitates wound healing compared with the conventional NPWT system. The objective of this study was to compare the outcomes of chronic lower leg ulcer treatment between NPWT and NPWT i-d.
Methods: Forty-one wounds in 39 patients were included in the study. We examined the length of hospital stay, NPWT period, time until the final operation, the number of surgical procedures performed, and the wound-healing rate.
Results: Although more severe patients were included in the NPWT i-d group, the hospitalization time（NPWT vs NPWT i-d, 73.9 days vs 70.5 days, p=0.38）, NPWT period（21.3 days vs 20.4 days, p=0.32）, and number of surgical procedures performed（2.43 vs 2.45, p=0.47）were not significantly different between the groups. The wound-healing rate was higher in the NPWT i-d group（73.3% vs 100%）.
Conclusion: NPWT i-d is an effective treatment method for chronic lower limb wounds. Further studies are needed in order to clarify the effects of NPWT i-d.
