Potassium permanganate soak combined with a negative pressure drainage device for bone and soft tissue infection

Abstract

Objective To analyze the clinical efficacy of potassium permanganate soak combined with a closed negative pressure drainage device for treatment of bone and soft tissue infection. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of the 83 patients with bone and soft tissue infection who had been treated at Department of Orthopaedics, The Second People’s Hospital of Fuzhou from July 2010 to March 2017. They were 71 males and 12 females, aged from 15 to 77 years (median, 44 years). Of them, 47 were subjected to soak with 1∶5,000 potassium permanganate solution and 36 to soak with 1∶5,000 gentamycin solution before a negative pressure sealing drainage device was applied for them all. The 2 groups were compared in terms of complications (pain, drainage device blockage or leakage, wound bleeding, tube pressure ulcer, and new nosocomial infection), time for negative bacterial culture, time for drainage device removal, time for wound closure, healing rate and recurrence rate. Results There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in pain, drainage device blockage or leakage, wound bleeding, or tube pressure ulcer (P>0.05). The rate of new nosocomial infection was significantly lower in the potassium permanganate group (2.1%) than in the gentamicin group (13.9%). The time for negative bacterial culture, drainage device removal and wound closure in the potassium permanganate group (6 d, 12 d and 18.5±1.9 d, respectively) was all significantly shorter than in the gentamicin group (9 d, 15 d and 20.0±2.2 d, respectively) (P< 0.05). The healing rate for the potassium permanganate group (100%) was significantly higher than that for the gentamicin group (86.1%); the recurrence rate (0) for the former was significantly lower than that for the latter (13.9%) (P< 0.05). Conclusion Potassium permanganate soak combined with a negative pressure drainage device is effective, economical, convenient and safe for the treatment of bone and soft tissue infection, compared with gentamicin soak combined with the same device. Key words: Potassium permanganate; Negative-pressure wound therapy; Soft tissue infections; Bone