Outcomes of Prophylactic Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Knee Arthroplasty

Negative pressure wound therapy is becoming more commonly used to prevent wound complications in joint arthroplasty, although few studies have assessed its outcomes compared with those of a traditional dry sterile dressing. This retrospective study assessed complications that required return to the operating room in a cohort of patients who received a dry sterile dressing (n=159) vs negative pressure wound therapy (n=32). There were significantly more overall complications (P=.0293) in the dry sterile dressing group (23.3%) compared with the negative pressure wound therapy group (6.3%); however, these findings were not statistically significant when each individual complication was compared separately. The infection rate in the dry sterile dressing group and the negative pressure wound therapy group was 5.7% and 0%, respectively (P=.3607). A larger, prospective study is needed to confirm the lower infection rate and before any definitive conclusions can be reached.