A Comparison of the Biomechanical Performance of 3 Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Foams.
Daniel J Gibson
PMID 34855716WHAT IT FOUND
Laboratory tests compared three negative pressure wound therapy foams.
All removed fluid similarly over 72 hours. However, polyurethane foam distributed suction more evenly across the wound area than either polyvinyl alcohol foam, which showed inconsistent pressure delivery away from the center.
Key findings
01There was no significant difference in the total volume of fluid removed by the three foams over the 72-hour test period.
02Polyurethane foam distributed negative pressure more consistently across the dressing area than the polyvinyl alcohol foams.
03Nearly half of the test polyvinyl alcohol foam samples failed to maintain pressure within the expected margin of error away from the center.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted entirely in a laboratory using a rigid plastic surface, not on actual human tissue. Real wounds are soft and irregular, which may change how foam behaves. The fluid used was a serum mixture, not actual patient wound exudate, which can vary greatly in thickness and protein content. The study measured mechanical performance only. It did not test patient outcomes, such as how quickly wounds healed or whether patients experienced pain. The authors noted that the polyurethane foam started dry while the others were wet, which affected early fluid removal rates, though this difference disappeared over time.
Declared interests
The author states that the test foam (Hydrofera Blue) is manufactured by Hydrofera, LLC. The study compares this test foam against competitors (KCI). The text does not explicitly declare funding sources or author employment ties to Hydrofera in the provided snippets, but the comparison is between a new product and established market leaders.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these laboratory results translate directly to better or worse healing in patients. The study only tested how foam handles fluid and pressure on a hard plastic table, not how it performs on a soft, living wound or whether it improves clinical outcomes.