Introduction: In order to improve wound healing conditions, negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) was
introduced as an alternative to conventional.
Aim of work: Assessing effectiveness of adjuvant Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) in conjunction with
compression bandages in accelerating chronic venous ulcers healing.
Patients and methods: Patients with venous leg ulcers for at least three months were enrolled in this study. A
four-layer compression bandage was used to treat the first group (compression-only group). The second group
(NPWT group) was treated with adjuvant Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) in conjunction with a fourlayer
compression bandage. Dressings were done twice a week, with ulcer size evaluation every two weeks.
Results: The NPWT group showed a significant reduction in ulcer size compared to the compression-only group:
6.18±2.91 cm² vs. 7.55±3.12 cm² after two weeks, and 3.37±1.45 cm² vs. 5.74±2.09 cm² after four weeks. A
significant difference was observed in the reduction in cumulative ulcer surface area between NPWT group and
compression-only group: 29% vs. 17% after two weeks, and 61.3% vs. 37.9% after four weeks. After six weeks,
90% healing of index ulcer was achieved in 37 ulcers (74%) in the NPWT group versus 20 ulcers (40%) in the
compression-only group, with statistically significant differences between the two groups. The mean duration
needed for healing in the NPWT group was significantly lower (31.5±4.18 days) compared to the compression-only
group (38.14±3.53 days).
Conclusion: The combination of adjuvant NPWT and compression bandages significantly enhanced the healing
of chronic venous ulcers, resulting in a shorter healing time and a higher number of healed ulcers compared to
using compression bandages alone.