Experiences and Expectations of Hospitalised Patients Undergoing Negative Pressure Wound Therapy With Instillation: A Qualitative Study.
Annabel Nanninga, Heleen Westland, Ricardo G Orsini and 3 others
PMID 41674187WHAT IT FOUND
Patients felt more prepared when told what to expect, but pain, alarms, sleep loss, and nurses unfamiliar with the pump caused distress.
They worried about managing negative pressure wound therapy with instillation at home without hospital support.
Key findings
01Patients felt more confident when they were told what to expect, and less confident when nurses seemed unfamiliar with the pump.
02The therapy disrupted sleep, mobility, and daily activities because of pain, alarms, instillation timing, and the size and tubes of the device.
03Patients worried about home treatment because they expected responsibility, discomfort, and less immediate nursing support.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used convenience recruitment. Seventeen patients were recruited, five declined, and 12 were interviewed, so the sample may reflect motivated patients rather than all patients receiving NPWTi. Most participants had surgical site infections and a median age of 75.5 years, so the findings may not transfer to other wound types or to patients unlike this sample. Home experiences were hypothetical expectations, not observed treatment at home, and half of the participants had no informal caregiver. Eleven of the 12 interviews were by telephone, so non-verbal cues were less accessible. The study reports experiences and expectations, not whether NPWTi improves wound healing compared with other treatment.
Declared interests
The authors report no study funding. M.A.B. reported institutional grants from J&J and Solventum and speaker or instructor roles for J&J, Solventum/3M, BD, Gore, Smith & Nephew, TelaBio, Angiodynamics, GDM, Medtronic, and Molnlycke outside the submitted work. A.M.E. reported a European Wound Management grant outside the submitted work. M.A.B. and A.M.E. received a ZonMw grant to investigate NPWTi effectiveness in a randomized clinical trial. AI tools were used to improve writing style.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that NPWTi heals wounds or is better than other treatment. The study asked 12 patients about experiences and hypothetical home expectations; it did not test wound outcomes.