title: Negative pressure wound therapy technologies for chronic wound care in the home setting: A systematic review.
abstract: The use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is increasing in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. We conducted a systematic review on the efficacy and safety of NPWT for the treatment of chronic wounds in the home setting. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, up to June 2014. Two independent reviewers screened search results. Seven studies met our criteria for inclusion. Six of the studies compared NPWT devices to other wound care methods and one study compared two different NPWT technologies. Data were limited by variability in the types of comparator groups, methodological limitations, and poor reporting of outcomes. We were unable to draw conclusions about the efficacy or safety of NPWT for the treatment of chronic wounds in the home setting due to the insufficient evidence. Consensus is needed on the methods of conducting and reporting wound care research so that future studies are able inform decisions about the use of NPWT in the home environment for chronic wounds.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.affiliation: Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health, School of Nursing, University of Maryland.
authors.forename: M Frances
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Valle
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lazarus
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Zenilman
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Karen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Robinson
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D054843:Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D014945:Wound Healing; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000628:therapy*