Negative pressure therapy in pediatric patient with surgical site infection: experience report.
Leticia Pontes, Juliana Szreider de Azevedo, Izabela Linha Secco and 3 others
PMID 39589153WHAT IT FOUND
In a child with an infected abdominal surgical wound, surgery, cleaning, dressings, skin barriers and negative pressure therapy were followed by reduced wound size and wound assessment scores.
This single case cannot prove any component worked.
Key findings
01A child with toxic megacolon developed surgical site infection with suture dehiscence.
02Initial wound care used Prontosan cleaning, hydrofiber dressing with silver and exudate absorption foam.
03Negative pressure therapy was used for 15 days, and BWAT scores fell in both wounds.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a single pediatric case with no comparison group, so it cannot show that negative pressure therapy works better than other care. The child received many treatments at once, including surgery, cleaning solution, silver hydrofiber and absorption foam, negative pressure materials, skin powder and barrier spray, hydrocolloid paste and light baths, so the effect of any one component cannot be separated. Evidence on negative pressure therapy for pediatric surgical site infection is described as scarce, and most studies are in adults. The equipment was donated for one month of exclusive use, which may limit generalizability to usual practice. The report contains inconsistent dates: data collection is stated as June 2023 to July 27, 2023, but the decision to use negative pressure therapy is dated December 12, 2023. No pre-specified primary outcome, comparison group, blinding or independent assessment is described.
Declared interests
The article does not provide a conflict-of-interest statement. It states that the negative pressure therapy materials were donated for one month of treatment.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that negative pressure therapy healed this child's wound. The child also received surgery, cleaning, silver hydrofiber and absorption foam, negative pressure materials, skin powder and barrier spray, hydrocolloid paste and light baths, and there was no comparison group.