title: The clinical efficacy of the vacuum-assisted closure therapy in the management of adult osteomyelitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy is a sophisticated development of a standard surgical procedure. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of managing adult osteomyelitis with VAC therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included a total of 68 patients that developed osteomyelitis with Cierny-Mader types 2, 3 and 4, and required open wound management between March 2005 and February 2009. In this study, 35 of these patients were treated by VAC therapy and the other 33 by conventional wound management. The patients were well compared with type, debridement times, wounds coverage, bacteriology and recurrence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the study, the patients treated by VAC therapy had a significantly reduced recurrence (1 vs. 7 wounds, P < 0.05), decreased rate of further autodermoplasty or flap surgery (17 vs. 26 wounds, P < 0.05), and increased cases of bacterial species cultures to negative (29 vs. 15 wounds, P < 0.05), debridement times and type were similar between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VAC therapy represents a good clinical efficacy in treating osteomyelitis; it can promote the granulation tissue formation, bacterial clearance, and reduce the needs for tissue transfer and muscle flaps in patients. In addition, it could be used as an adjuvant for the eradication of osteomyelitis and improving soft-tissue management, it may be more suitable for treating osteomyelitis with soft-tissue problems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Zhijun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054843:Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000601:surgery*