Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy Research Articles

Clinical Observations in Patients With Open Abdomens Managed With Negative Pressure Therapy Using a Perforated Foam Dressing: A Limited Case Series With Brief Literature Review

Introduction. Emergency laparotomy has become an increasingly more frequent and expensive general surgery procedure in terms of cost and resource utilization. Primary fascial closure at the index procedure may not be feasible in many patients, requiring use of the open abdomen (OA) technique. Patients with OA are most often managed with temporary abdomen closure (TAC). Open abdomen negative pressure therapy (OA-NPT) has been shown to be an effective TAC technique, which facilitates re-exploration, protects visceral organs, mitigates fascial retraction, prevents loss of abdominal domain, and provides effective volumetric abdominal fluid management. Objective. This study assessed the clinical use and outcomes of a next-generation perforated polyurethane foam dressing that has been developed for use with OA-NPT. Materials and Methods. The authors evaluated a next-generation OA-NPT foam dressing to provide TAC in 4 patients who required OA management. Two surgeons at different facilities exercised their independent surgical discretion in selecting the patients who would receive the next generation OA-NPT foam dressing. Surgical interventions to resolve the underlying pathology were completed using the OA technique. Postoperatively, all patients had intermittent urinary bladder pressures recorded as an indirect method for approximating intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) and to monitor clinical evidence of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) or abdominal compartment syndrome. Results. In these patients, primary fascial closure was achieved and no appreciable increase in IAP was noted. No gastrointestinal complications related to the next generation perforated OA-NPT foam dressing were noted. Conclusions. Based on the authors' clinical assessment of the 4 patients who required OA management, the new, perforated OA-NPT foam dressing was effective in providing increased medial tension and contraction without an appreciable increase in IAP.

Damage control surgery for grade IV blunt hepatic injury with multiple organ damage in a child: a case report

BackgroundIntra-abdominal hemorrhage caused by blunt hepatic injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with abdominal trauma. Some of these patients require laparotomy, and rapid decision-making and life-saving surgery are essential. Damage control (DC) surgery is useful for treating children in critical situations. We performed this technique to treat an 8-year-old boy with grade IV blunt hepatic injury and multiple organ damage. This is the first report of the use of the ABTHERA Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System (KCI, now part of 3 M Company, San Antonio, TX, USA) for DC surgery to rescue a patient without neurological sequelae.Case presentationAn 8-year-old boy was brought to the emergency department of our hospital after being run over by a motor vehicle. He had grade IV blunt hepatic injury, thyroid injury, and bilateral hemopneumothorax. Although he was hemodynamically stable, the patient’s altered level of consciousness, the presence of a sign of peritoneal irritation, and suspicion of intestinal injury led us to perform exploratory laparotomy. As part of a DC strategy, we performed gauze packing to control hemorrhage from the liver and covered the abdomen with an ABTHERA Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System to improve the patient’s general condition. Eighteen days after admission, the patient was diagnosed with a biliary fistula, which improved with percutaneous and external drainage. He had no neurological sequelae and was discharged 102 days after injury.ConclusionThe DC strategy was effective in children with severe blunt hepatic injury. We opted to perform DC surgery because children have less hemodynamic reserve than adults, and we believe that using this strategy before the appearance of trauma triad of death could save lives and improve outcomes. During conservative management, it is important to adopt a multistage, flexible approach to achieve a good outcome.

Management of the open abdomen: clinical recommendations for the trauma/acute care surgeon and general surgeon.

Traditionally, the surgical approach to managing abdominal injuries was to assess the extent of trauma, repair any damage and close the abdomen in one definitive procedure rather than leave the abdomen open. With advances in medicine, damage control surgery using temporary abdominal closure methods is being used to manage the open abdomen (OA) when closure is not possible. Although OA management is often observed in traumatic injuries, the extension of damage control surgery concepts, in conjunction with OA, for the management of the septic patient requires that the general surgeon who is faced with these challenges has a comprehensive knowledge of this complex subject. The purpose of this article is to provide guidance to the acute care and general surgeon on the use of OA negative pressure therapy (OA-NPT; ABTHERA™ Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System, KCI, an ACELITY Company, San Antonio, TX) for OA management. A literature review of published evidence, clinical recommendations on managing the OA and a case study demonstrating OA management using OA-NPT have been included.

Management of the open abdomen using combination therapy with ABRA and ABThera systems.

The open abdomen is an increasingly used technique that is applied in a wide variety of clinical situations. The ABThera Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System is one of the most common and successful temporary closure systems, but it has limited ability to close the fascia in approximately 30% of patients. The abdominal reapproximation anchor system (ABRA) is a dynamic closure system that seems ideal to manage patients who may not achieve primary fascial closure with ABThera alone. We report on the use of the ABRA in conjunction with the ABThera in patients with an open abdomen. We retrospectively analyzed patients with an open abdomen managed with the ABThera and ABRA between January 2007 and December 2012 at the Halifax Infirmary, QEII Health Science Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sixteen patients had combination therapy using the ABRA and ABThera systems for treatment of the open abdomen. After removing patients who died prior to closure, primary fascial closure was achieved in 12 of 13 patients (92%). We observed a high rate of primary fascial closure in patients with an open abdomen managed with the ABThera system in conjuction with the ABRA. Applying mechanical traction in addition to the ABThera should be considered in patients predicted to be at high risk for failure to achieve primary fascial closure.

Care of the open abdomen after cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for peritoneal surface malignancies.

A patient with a mucinous appendiceal cancer presents to the surgeon complaining of abdominal discomfort and nausea. Having undergone a prior right hemicolectomy, the patient has been disease free and on surveillance with clinical and carcinogenic antigen (CEA) monitoring. The CEA was noted to be elevated and a computed tomography scan revealed peritoneal nodules throughout the abdomen with a presumptive diagnosis of pseudomyxoma peritonei (progressive peritoneal implants from a mucinous primary). Several therapeutic options were offered and the patient selected to undergo cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with the potential to receive hyperthermic interoperative chemotherapy (HIPEC). Extensive resection was performed, including removal of the entire greater omentum, partial gastrectomy, and total pelvic exenteration with end colostomy and ileal conduit. Reassessment of the peritoneal cavity after the resections revealed almost complete cytoreduction. HIPEC was performed with mitomycin C and, after drainage and abdominal washing, the intestinal segments were anastomosed and the abdominal wall closed. Seven days postoperatively, an acute abdomen with septic shock developed as a result of a leak from the ileocolonic anastomosis. The patient returned to the operating room and an exploratory laparotomy, a small bowel resection, a resection of the ileocolonic anastomosis, and an abdominal washout were performed. Edema of the bowel caused by peritonitis resulting from the anastomotic leak necessitated delayed closure of the abdominal wall. A temporary abdominal closure using the ABThera™ Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy system was applied and the abdomen was eventually closed.

The open abdomen: temporary closure with a modified negative pressure therapy technique.

The most common indications for an open abdomen (OA) are abdominal compartment syndrome, damage control surgery, diffuse peritonitis and wound dehiscence, and often require a temporary abdominal closure (TAC). The different TAC methods that are currently available include skin closure techniques, mesh products and negative pressure therapy (NPT) systems. For this study, we retrospectively reviewed records of 115 OA patients treated with the commercially available NPT systems (V.A.C.(®) Abdominal Dressing System and ABThera™ Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System) using a new method of applying the system-the narrowing technique-over a 5-year period. Endpoints included fascial closure and 30-day mortality rates and presence of enteroatmospheric fistulas. Secondary closure of the fascia was obtained in 92% (106/115) of the patients with a mortality rate of 17% (20/115) and a fistula rate of 3·5% (4/115). The use of the narrowing technique to apply NPT may explain the high closure rates observed in the patient population of this study. Further studies are necessary to compare the different methods and to evaluate the long-term outcomes.

Efficacy and safety of active negative pressure peritoneal therapy for reducing the systemic inflammatory response after damage control laparotomy (the Intra-peritoneal Vacuum Trial): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundDamage control laparotomy, or abbreviated initial laparotomy followed by temporary abdominal closure (TAC), intensive care unit resuscitation, and planned re-laparotomy, is frequently used to manage intra-abdominal bleeding and contamination among critically ill or injured adults. Animal data suggest that TAC techniques that employ negative pressure to the peritoneal cavity may reduce the systemic inflammatory response and associated organ injury. The primary objective of this study is to determine if use of a TAC dressing that affords active negative pressure peritoneal therapy, the ABThera Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System, reduces the extent of the systemic inflammatory response after damage control laparotomy for intra-abdominal sepsis or injury as compared to a commonly used TAC method that provides potentially less efficient peritoneal negative pressure, the Barker’s vacuum pack.Methods/DesignThe Intra-peritoneal Vacuum Trial will be a single-center, randomized controlled trial. Adults will be intraoperatively allocated to TAC with either the ABThera or Barker’s vacuum pack after the decision has been made by the attending surgeon to perform a damage control laparotomy. The study will use variable block size randomization. On study days 1, 2, 3, 7, and 28, blood will be collected. Whenever possible, peritoneal fluid will also be collected at these time points from the patient’s abdomen or TAC device. Luminex technology will be used to quantify the concentrations of 65 mediators relevant to the inflammatory response in peritoneal fluid and plasma. The primary endpoint is the difference in the plasma concentration of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 at 24 and 48 h after TAC dressing application. Secondary endpoints include the differential effects of these dressings on the systemic concentration of other pro-inflammatory cytokines, collective peritoneal and systemic inflammatory mediator profiles, postoperative fluid balance, intra-abdominal pressure, and several patient-important outcomes, including organ dysfunction measures and mortality.DiscussionResults from this study will improve understanding of the effect of active negative pressure peritoneal therapy after damage control laparotomy on the inflammatory response. It will also gather necessary pilot information needed to inform design of a multicenter trial comparing clinical outcomes among patients randomized to TAC with the ABThera versus Barker’s vacuum pack.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier http://www.clicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01355094

Prospective Study Examining Clinical Outcomes Associated with a Negative Pressure Wound Therapy System and Barker’s Vacuum Packing Technique

BackgroundThe open abdomen has become a common procedure in the management of complex abdominal problems and has improved patient survival. The method of temporary abdominal closure (TAC) may play a role in patient outcome.MethodsA prospective, observational, open-label study was performed to evaluate two TAC techniques in surgical and trauma patients requiring open abdomen management: Barker’s vacuum-packing technique (BVPT) and the ABTheraTM open abdomen negative pressure therapy system (NPWT). Study endpoints were days to and rate of 30-day primary fascial closure (PFC) and 30-day all-cause mortality.ResultsAltogether, 280 patients were enrolled from 20 study sites. Among them, 168 patients underwent at least 48 hours of consistent TAC therapy (111 NPWT, 57 BVPT). The two study groups were well matched demographically. Median days to PFC were 9 days for NPWT versus 12 days for BVPT (p = 0.12). The 30-day PFC rate was 69 % for NPWT and 51 % for BVPT (p = 0.03). The 30-day all-cause mortality was 14 % for NPWT and 30 % for BVPT (p = 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified that patients treated with NPWT were significantly more likely to survive than the BVPT patients [odds ratio 3.17 (95 % confidence interval 1.22–8.26); p = 0.02] after controlling for age, severity of illness, and cumulative fluid administration.ConclusionsActive NPWT is associated with significantly higher 30-day PFC rates and lower 30-day all-cause mortality among patients who require an open abdomen for at least 48 h during treatment for critical illness.

Comparative study of the microvascular blood flow in the intestinal wall, wound contraction and fluid evacuation during negative pressure wound therapy in laparostomy using the V.A.C. abdominal dressing and the ABThera open abdomen negative pressure therapy system

This study aimed to compare the changes in microvascular blood flow in the small intestinal wall, wound contraction and fluid evacuation, using the established V.A.C. abdominal dressing (VAC dressing) and a new abdominal dressing, the ABThera open abdomen negative pressure therapy system (ABThera dressing), in negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT). Midline incisions were made in 12 pigs that were subjected to treatment with NPWT using the VAC or ABThera dressing. The microvascular blood flow in the intestinal wall was measured before and after the application of topical negative pressures of −50, −75 and −125mmHg using laser Doppler velocimetry. Wound contraction and fluid evacuation were also measured. Baseline blood flow was defined as 100% in all settings. The blood flow was significantly reduced to 64·6±6·7% (P <0·05) after the application of −50mmHg using the VAC dressing, and to 65·3±9·6% (P <0·05) after the application of −50mmHg using the ABThera dressing. The blood flow was significantly reduced to 39·6±6·7% (P <0·05) after the application of −125mmHg using VAC and to 40·5±6·2% (P <0·05) after the application of −125mmHg using ABThera. No significant difference in reduction in blood flow could be observed between the two groups. The ABThera system afforded significantly better fluid evacuation from the wound, better drainage of the abdomen and better wound contraction than the VAC dressing.

Total management of the open abdomen

The management of complex abdominal problems with the 'open abdomen' (OA) technique has become a routine procedure in surgery. The number of cases treated with an OA has increased dramatically because of the popularisation of damage control for life-threatening conditions, recognition and treatment of intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome and new evidence regarding the management of severe intra-abdominal sepsis. Although OA has saved numerous lives and has addressed many problems related to the primary pathology, this technique is also associated with serious complications. New knowledge about the pathophysiology of the OA and the development of new technologies for temporary abdominal wall closure (e.g. ABThera™ Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy; KCI USA Inc., San Antonio, TX) has helped improve the management and outcomes of these patients. This review will merge expert physician opinion with scientific evidence regarding the total management of the OA.

Laparostomy management using the ABThera™ open abdomen negative pressure therapy system in a grade IV open abdomen secondary to acute pancreatitis

Wound control in laparostomy for the treatment of intra-abdominal hypertension remains challenging and numerous techniques have been described. We report the first UK experience with a new commercially available device specifically designed to facilitate management of the open abdomen. A 44-year-old gentleman presented with a 3-day history of constant severe epigastric pain and associated vomiting. Amylase was markedly elevated and he was admitted for supportive management of pancreatitis, with subsequent transfer to intensive care due to severe systemic inflammatory syndrome. The patient decompensated, developing intra-abdominal hypertension with renal and respiratory failure. This was successfully managed by performing a laparostomy and using an ABThera™ Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System (KCI, San Antonio, TX). We describe its use to facilitate wound control, including enteroatmospheric fistula, allowing granulation and eventual restoration of gastrointestinal continuity 383-days after admission. We found the ABThera™ System proved to be a useful treatment adjunct, protecting intra-abdominal contents while removing large volumes of exudate and infected material from within the abdominal cavity. Complex cases such as this remain infrequent and this article provides a summary of our experience, including a review of indications for laparostomy and the underlying basic science in this difficult area.

Burst Strength Testing of Porcine Intestinal Anastomoses Following Negative Pressure Therapy

The effect of negative pressure therapy (NPT; The ABThera™ Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System, KCI USA, Inc., San Antonio, TX) on the integrity of small intestinal anastomoses was evaluated using in situ burst strength testing in a domestic pig model. In each of 3 swine, 8 anastomoses were created, 4 using sutures and 4 using staples. After 24 hours of continuous NPT, each anastomosis was subjected to burst strength testing in situ. Mean ratios of burst strength of sutured anastomoses to baseline intraluminal pressure were 9.0 to 10.9. Stapled anastomoses had significantly lower burst strength than sutured anastomoses, but mean values were still at least 4.6 times greater than baseline. No differences were seen between anastomoses that were located in close proximity with treatment and those remotely placed or when measured with negative pressure on or off at burst assessment. NPT had no acute adverse effect on intestinal anastomoses in swine.