Search

Introduction: A variety of NPWT products have become commercially available in the last 30 years. Utilizing advanced wound therapies appropriately can improve patient outcomes and decrease health care expenditures. Due to the increasing number of available product options, Hurd and colleagues published 10 Consensus Statements and a clinical decision tree to provide guidance on how and when to use NPWT and when to transition between device types., Objective: To demonstrate the applicability of the consensus panel's statements and the clinical decision tree, 2 clinicians in the United States and Canada explored the benefits of applying these recommendations into their routine wound management practice., Materials and Methods: Case studies were collected and reviewed in accordance with the Consensus Statements and clinical decision tree., Results: Case presentations illustrate the application of the consensus panel's guidance through the prescribing of the NPWT products utilized as standard of care within both facilities., Conclusion: Utilizing NPWT devices according to the consensus panel recommendations and the clinical decision tree may assist in optimizing care delivery to patients and address logistical and economic efficiencies.

Introduction: Currently, there are no international standardized guidelines or recommendations to guide the clinical decision-making process on when to initiate various negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) systems for acute and chronic wounds. Specifically, no established recommendations or guidance exists regarding the type of NPWT system to use, traditional (tNPWT) or single-use (sNPWT), and how to transition between the 2 systems., Methods: An expert panel was convened to (1) provide recommendations to clinicians on when to consider NPWT use in acute and chronic wound management and (2) develop a practical decision-making tool to guide on the appropriateness of the different NPWT modalities (tNPWT or sNPWT) and when they should be utilized., Results: The panel made recommendations and designed a clinical decision-making tool to aid the consideration for initiating NPWT and the optimal system to be utilized based on (1) therapeutic goals, (2) wound-related factors, (3) patient satisfaction and quality of life, (4) care setting-related factors, (5) economic-related factors, and (6) NPWT system-related factors., Conclusions: The panel recommendations took into consideration the clinical, operational, and financial factors in the clinical decision-making process of NPWT use to enable optimal patient and health care system outcomes.