Effectiveness of negative pressure therapy in diabetic foot ulcer: systematic review

Background: Diabetic foot ulcers are one of the major causes of disability in patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM). The Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) is one of the major procedures in his treatment, estimulating granulation, draining exudate and reducing edema.e Objectives: To realize a systematic review about the effectiveness and the real clinical application of NPWT use in diabetic foot ulcers. Methods: The literature search has been made in November 2016 in PubMed, CINAHL, SciELO and Web of Science databases, with the kew words ("negative pressure wound therapy" OR "vacuum assisted closure" OR "vacuum sealing drainage") AND ("diabetic foot" OR "diabetic wound" OR "diabetic ulcer"). Were selected publications whose designs were randomized clinical trials (RCTs), according PRISMA declaration criteria, and whose objective was to analyze the study objective. Results: Twelve RCTs were found with sufficient methodological quality. 7 of the RCTs used as the main variable the surface of the wound bed and 5 used the time to granulation. Conclusions: NPWT get a greater granulation area, a smaller wound healing time and a minor time to start the granulation.