Comparative Study of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy vs Moist Saline Dressing in management of Stage III/IV Sacral Pressure Sores

Abstract

Introduction: Pressure sores in sacral area are a common cause of prolonged morbidity & increased health expenditure. In this study, we compare two methods of treating pressure sore- the newer “Negative Pressure Wound Therapy”(NPWT) and the conventional moist saline dressing.Materials &Methods: 124 patients participated in the study with half (n=62) of the patients in NPWT group & the other half (n-62) in moist saline dressing group. Descriptive statistics of both the groups were laid out. The two management modalities were compared by Chi square test for granulation tissue formation, wound size reduction, absence of wound discharge and negative wound culture. Statistical calculations were done with Microsoft excel & www.socscistatistics.com. Results: The patients in the NPWT group had significantly higher formation of granulation tissue, higher contraction of wound size, lesser discharge from wound& lower culture positivity compared to moist saline dressing group (p<0.05). Stroke followed by spinal disorders & malignancy were found to be the commonest precipitating factors for development of pressure sores.Conclusions: NPWT fares significantly better compared to moist saline dressing in pressure sore management. Though expensive but a significantly faster rate of recovery & lower requirement of surgical procedures makes it overall cost effective as well.