Abstract
Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the systemic effect of negative pressure wound
therapy (NPWT) on the treatment of complicated wounds in dogs.
Materials and Methods Dogs undergoing open wound treatment were randomly assigned to one of two groups:
NPWT (n = 11) or polyurethane foam dressing (n = 11). Rectal temperature, heart rate as well as haematocrit, thrombocytes, leucocyte
count, band neutrophils, C-reactive protein (CrP), total protein and albumin were
recorded daily from the beginning of therapy (day 0) until day 5, as well as on day
10. The effect of treatment on systemic parameters was evaluated as well as the prognostic
power of the individual parameters with regard to successful wound closure.
Results A more profound systemic decrease was found in total protein under NPWT. This difference
was non-significant. Patients with non-successful closure displayed a non-significant
trend towards lower initial leukocyte and thrombocyte counts and significantly higher
CrP values on days 4, 5 and 10 (p < 0.05) compared with successfully treated patients. Receiver operating characteristic
analysis revealed an optimal cutoff value of 70.2 mg/L at day 4 (sensitivity 80; specificity
of 85.7).
Conclusion There might be an increased loss of protein in NPWT-treated patients, which does
not affect albumin levels, otherwise no systemic effects were detected compared with
the control treatment. The parameter with the best sensitivity and specificity to
detect serious complications (no wound closure achieved) was CrP at day 4.
Keywords
negative pressure wound therapy - polyurethane foam - C-reactive protein - prognostic
values for wound closure
