How Can Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Pay for Itself?-Reducing Complications Is Important

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Infectious Disease
• Health Economics

Background:

• Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a significant concern in orthopaedic trauma, leading to increased healthcare costs.
• Incisional negative pressure wound therapy (iNPWT) has shown promise in reducing SSI rates across various surgical specialties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the potential cost savings associated with using iNPWT in high-risk orthopaedic trauma patients with specific fracture types (OTA/AO 41C and 43C).

Main Methods:

• A retrospective cohort study utilizing a lower extremity fracture registry at a level-1 trauma center.
• A health economic model was developed using registry data and literature-derived baseline infection rates to evaluate cost savings.

Main Results:

• In patients with OTA/AO 41C and 43C fractures, the overall SSI rate was 10.1%.
• The SSI rate was reduced to 7.4% in patients who received iNPWT.
• The health economic model estimated potential cost reductions of $1381 to $4436 per patient with iNPWT use.

Conclusions:

• Judicious application of iNPWT may lead to significant healthcare cost reductions in patients undergoing open reduction and internal fixation for OTA/AO 41C and 43C fractures.
• iNPWT presents a viable strategy for mitigating the economic burden of SSIs in complex orthopaedic trauma cases.