Pediatric Maggot Debridement Therapy

Abstract

Acutely ill and immobilized neonates and children are at risk for pressure ulcers. The purpose of this article is to describe the use of maggot therapy for debridement of nonhealing necrotic wounds such as pressure ulcers, nonhealing traumatic, or postoperative wounds. Debridement is considered an essential procedure for healing in nonhealing wounds or pressure ulcers. Maggot debridement therapy has been used for centuries for nonhealing wounds. Maggot debridement therapy is the application of a specific breed of medical grade, sterile maggots to a necrotic wound bed (Whitaker et al., 2007). This manuscript is a case study of a 6-year-old critically ill boy who was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit in cardiac failure and developed deep tissue injury. Surgical debridement was initially done, and then maggot therapy was initiated for further debridement of the fungal organism to prepare the wound bed for grafting.