Evaluation of chronic wound treatment with the SNaP wound care system versus modern dressing protocols.
BACKGROUND
Traditional negative-pressure wound therapy systems use an electrically powered pump to generate negative pressure at the wound bed. The SNaP Wound Care System is a novel, ultraportable device that delivers negative-pressure wound therapy without the use of an electrically powered pump.


METHODS
At an outpatient wound care clinic, 21 subjects with difficult-to-treat lower extremity ulcers received treatment with the SNaP System and were evaluated for wound healing for up to 4 months. Outcomes were then compared with 42 patient-matched controls treated at the same center with modern wound care protocols that included the use of Apligraf, Regranex, and skin grafting.


RESULTS
In the SNaP-treated group, 100 percent of subjects demonstrated improvement in wound size and 86 percent (18 of 21) exhibited a statistically significant healing trend (p < 0.05). Using Kaplan-Meier estimates of wound healing, SNaP-treated subjects healed in an average of 74.25 ± 20.1 days from the start of SNaP treatment and the matched controls healed in an average of 148.73 ± 63.1 days from the start of conventional treatment. This significantly faster healing time represents a 50 percent absolute reduction in time to healing (p < 0.0001) for subjects treated with the SNaP device.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings reported here for the SNaP Wound Care System are similar to published reports for powered negative-pressure wound therapy devices for the treatment of highly challenging lower extremity wounds. This study suggests that the SNaP Wound Care System may be a useful addition to the techniques available to the wound care clinician.
Lerman
Bruce
B
San Jose, Stanford, and Sunnyvale, Calif. From the O'Connor Wound Care Clinic, O'Connor Hospital; the Divisions of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University; and Spiracur, Inc.
Oldenbrook
Leslie
L
Eichstadt
Shaundra L
SL
Ryu
Justin
J
Fong
Kenton D
KD
Schubart
Peter J
PJ
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001458:Bandages; D000077214:Becaplermin; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003094:Collagen / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D016523:Foot Ulcer / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007871:Leg Ulcer / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054843:Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D020574:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-sis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology
C117898:Apligraf; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; D020574:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-sis; D000077214:Becaplermin; D003094:Collagen