Clinical effects of vacuum sealing drainage in the treatment of alkali burn wounds

Abstract

Objective: To preliminarily observe the clinical effects of vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) in the treatment of alkali burn wounds. Methods: From June 2016 to March 2020, 60 male patients with alkali burns who met the inclusion criteria and hospitalized in the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University were recruited in this prospectively randomized control study. According to the random number table, silver sulfadiazine group and VSD group were both allocated with 30 patients, aged (36±8) and (35±10) years respectively; with total burn area of (7.2±2.0) % and (8.5±3.0) % total body surface area respectively. After admission, patients in silver sulfadiazine group were treated with conventional silver sulfadiazine dressing change once a day after debridement; patients in VSD group were given continuous VSD treatment after debridement, with the negative pressure setting at -10.67 kPa, and the negative pressure materials were replaced every 6 to 8 days. On treatment day 1, 4, and 7, the exudate from the wounds of patients in silver sulfadiazine group and the wound drainage fluid of patients in VSD group were collected, the pH value was measured by a portable pH meter, and the volume of exudate/drainage fluid was measured. After 7, 14, and 21 days of treatment, the wound healing rates of patients were calculated in the two groups. Before treatment and 7 days after treatment, venous blood was collected from the patients in the two groups to detect the serum level of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 8 (IL-8). Within treatment day 14, Visual Analogue Scale was used to assess the pain score of patients in the two groups during each time of dressing change. The medical costs and discharge satisfaction scores of patients in the two groups were recorded. Data were statistically analyzed with analysis of variance for repeated measurement, t test, and Bonferroni correction. Results: (1) On treatment day 1, 4, and 7, the pH values of the drainage fluid of patients in VSD group were 9.75±0.59, 9.01±0.46, and 8.13±0.28, respectively, which were significantly higher than 9.35±0.62, 8.18±0.18, and 7.58±0.09 of exudate of patients in silver sulfadiazine group (t=2.03, 6.80, 7.56, P<0.05 or P<0.01). On treatment day 1 and 4, the volumes of drainage fluid of patients in VSD group were (553±83) and (239±65) mL respectively, which were significantly higher than (440±77) and (175±49) mL of exudate of patients in silver sulfadiazine group (t=3.44, 2.24, P<0.05). On treatment day 7, the volume of drainage fluid of patients in VSD group was (21±8) mL, which was significantly lower than (149±44) mL of exudate of patients in silver sulfadiazine group (t=-12.61, P<0.01). (2) After 7, 14, and 21 days of treatment, the wound healing rates of patients in VSD group were (39±6) %, (74±10) %, and (92±3) %, respectively, which were significantly higher than (25±3) %, (59±6) %, and (77±6) % in silver sulfadiazine group (t=7.07, 5.59, 7.09, P<0.01). (3) Before treatment, the serum levels of TNF-α and IL-8 of patients in the two groups were similar. After 7 days of treatment, the serum levels of TNF-α and IL-8 of patients in VSD group were significantly lower than those in silver sulfadiazine group (t=-8.75, -8.04, P<0.01). (4) The pain score during dressing change and medical cost of patients in VSD group were significantly lower than those in silver sulfadiazine group (t=-4.28, -7.56, P<0.01), while the discharge satisfaction score of patients in VSD group was significantly higher than that in silver sulfadiazine group (t=10.91, P<0.05). Conclusions: The application of VSD technology in clinical alkali burn wounds can effectively promote the removal of residual lye, alleviate the further damage of lye to skin tissue, shorten the wound healing time, effectively remove inflammatory mediators, reduce the pain of dressing change, decrease the total cost of treatment, and enhance satisfaction of patient.