Animal bites

Negative pressure wound therapy

In one randomized trial of patients with serious limb lacerations (thoroughly debrided) attributable to dog bites, continuous negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) (-75 mmHg or -125 mmHg) reduced infection rate and recovery time compared with conventional therapy (leaving wounds open).[61]Rui-Feng C, Li-Song H, Ji-Bo Z, et al. Negative pressure wound therapy for serious dog bites of extremities: a prospective randomized trial. Am J Emerg Med. 2016 Jun;34(6):1006-10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26964825?tool=bestpractice.com One Cochrane review of NPWT for open traumatic wounds found no clear difference between NPWT and standard care on the proportion of wounds healed at six weeks for open fracture wounds.[62]Iheozor-Ejiofor Z, Newton K, Dumville JC, et al. Negative pressure wound therapy for open traumatic wounds. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jul 3;(7):CD012522. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6513538 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29969521?tool=bestpractice.com Further research is needed before NPWT can be recommended.