Silver-Impregnated Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy for the Treatment of Lower-Extremity Open Wounds: A Prospective Randomized Clinical Study

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the antibacterial efficacy of silver-impregnated negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) in lower-extremity acute traumatic wounds.

Methods: Open contaminated wounds caused by high-velocity trauma in the lower extremities were randomly allocated into two groups. The wounds in the control and experimental groups were treated with conventional NPWT (n = 31) and silver-impregnated NPWT (n = 35), respectively.

Main outcome measures: Serial bacterial cultures were obtained from the participants' wounds, polyurethane foam, and suction tubes weekly during the 4-week follow-up to identify bacteria and follow their conversions.

Main results: Bacterial colonization rates in the silver NPWT group were generally lower than those in the conventional NPWT group, and the difference increased with time. For methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization, wounds treated with silver-impregnated NPWT showed a significant reduction in bacterial load compared with those treated with conventional NPWT.

Conclusions: Silver-impregnated NPWT effectively decreases bacterial load in open contaminated wounds of the lower extremities. It can be used as a temporizing measure to manage bacterial colonization while patients and wounds are being prepared for final wound reconstruction.