Background: NPWTi-d of a topical wound solution has been shown to benefit healing in a variety of wound types. This therapy has traditionally been applied via a standard ROCF-V. In 2017, a new ROCF-CC was introduced at the practice of the authors of the current manuscript for adjunctive management of patients with wounds with thick exudate and/or nonviable tissue and in cases in which surgical debridement is not available or not appropriate.
Objective: To compare the efficacy of NPWTi-d with ROCF-CC dressing (treatment) vs NPWTi-d with ROCF-V dressing (control).
Materials and methods: An observational retrospective cohort study of hospital records of patients with VLUs treated with NPWTi-d who received ROCF-CC dressings (n = 11) vs standard ROCF-V dressings (n = 11) was conducted. NPWTi-d was chosen to promote wound healing in VLUs that were not fully responsive to advanced dressings and/or compression bandage. Solution dwell time was 10 minutes, followed by 2.5-hour NPWT cycles at -125 mm Hg. Dressings were changed every 72 hours.
Results: Overall, mean ± SD duration of therapy and hospital length of stay were shorter in the treatment group vs the control group (duration of therapy, 8.63 days ± 7.05 vs 11.72 days ± 17.41, respectively; P = .05, and length of stay, 9.9 days ± 2.98 vs 12.81 days ± 4.26, respectively; P = .08), but these differences were not statistically significant. Mean wound area reduction was greater in the treatment group than in the control group (14.63 cm2 ± 13.24 and 10.72 cm2 ± 14.06, respectively; P = .51), but this was not significant.
Conclusion: ROCF-CC dressings were a useful tool in assisting wound bed preparation and reducing time to skin graft closure in this series of complex VLUs.