Effectiveness and Cost-Benefit Evaluation of Closed Incision Negative Pressure Therapy (ciNPT) in Patients After Major Revascularization Procedures

Abstract

Introduction

Wound healing complications (WHC) of groin incisions are frequently discussed in vascular surgery. Various preventive measures are often applied to reduce their rates, but not all have the desired effect, and all these measures have their respective costs. The main aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of closed incision negative pressure therapy (ciNPT) in reducing WHCs in high-risk patients after major revascularization procedures compared to the conventional adhesive dressing and to investigate the cost-benefit of its routine use.

Material and methods

From April 2023 to October 2024, 30 patients with 60 groin wounds who underwent aortic-bifemoral bypass surgery had their right groin wound treated with ciNPT and left groin wound with a conventional surgical adhesive dressing. The ciNPT system was removed after 7 days postoperatively. Both wounds were examined on the 7^th and 30^th postoperative day and any WHCs were marked and graded by the Szilagyi classification. Hospitalization costs and hospital stay periods of all patients were also analyzed.

Results

The ciNPT-treated wound showed a statistically significant reduction in WHCs against the conventionally treated contralateral groin (P = 0.025). None of the ciNPT-treated wounds prolonged hospital stay and a significant increase in hospitalization costs (P < 0.001) has been observed in patients who developed WHCs, prolonging hospital stay (P = 0.007).

Conclusion

High-risk vascular surgery patients are very likely to benefit from ciNPT and the routine use of this method may also be considered economically, however, additional research must be conducted to evaluate indications better.