The inability to notice power failures in negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) devices can negatively affect wound healing, resulting in the need for unplanned surgery and the loss of graft coverings.

In a study of 123 patients undergoing NPWT treatment for orthopaedic trauma, 10% had complications from the NPWT systems powering off and staff not recognising it immediately. Hospital staff usually did not detect the signs of the power failure for several hours, resulting in nine patients needing unplanned surgery and five patients experiencing deep wound infections. The study advocates the use of NPWT, but also better training in its use.

Click here to see the study.

Image: Orthopaedic trauma surgery. Credit: Gary Bridgman on Flickr.