Bronchial fistula closure with negative pressure wound therapy: a feasible and cost-effective treatment

Abstract

Treatment of bronchial fistula (BF) after pulmonary lobectomy is a challenge. Often, patients require long hospital stay, have recurrent empyema and pneumonia, are susceptible to sepsis, often need broad-spectrum antibiotics, as well as various surgical approaches. With the advent and growing evidence of the benefits of negative pressure therapy (NPT), its use in some patients with BF has been reported with encouraging results concerning its feasibility and cost-effectiveness. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the application of NPT as a resource for BF treatment and comparatively analyze the overall cost of treatment.

Acute otitis externa because of negative pressure wound therapy applied over the head and ear canal for scalping treatment

“…It is well known that AOE is associated with bacterial proliferation in the ear canal . As the suction system continuously removes exudate, it is speculated that the NPWT may promote bacterial clearance and control its proliferation in the wound bed . Hypothetically, the degree of infection would be diminished by NPWT, but there are no prospective randomised controlled trials confirming these data .…”

“…16,17 As the suction system continuously removes exudate, it is speculated that the NPWT may promote bacterial clearance and control its proliferation in the wound bed. [19][20][21] Hypothetically, the degree of infection would be diminished by NPWT, but there are no prospective randomised controlled trials confirming these data. 6 The role of NPWT in microorganism populations is still controversial, and few studies even associate it with an elevation in bacterial count.…”