Negative pressure wound therapy: "a rose by any other name"

Negative pressure wound therapy is one of the dominant adjunctive wound care modalities used in North America. One company has a proprietary hold on the market for this type of wound therapy and recent wound care literature has focused on the company's products rather than on the concept itself. Currently utilized standards for negative pressure wound therapy are based on a few relatively recent publications originating after 1997. However, a review of the English and Russian literature that predates this work reveals discrepancies regarding optimal duration of treatment, intensity of negative pressure, mode of application, timing of application, and intervals between treatments. A careful review of research that has rarely been cited in recent wound care literature elucidates the inconsistencies between currently held dogma and less well known negative pressure research. In order to achieve optimal outcomes of care, current practices must be re-evaluated and researched using well-established guidelines for determining treatment safety and effectiveness.