Vacuum Assisted Closure®* in the management of Diabetic Foot Ulcers for Managed Care patients

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this three-year retrospective study review was to determine the treatment duration and patient outcomes for diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) managed care patients treated with V.A.C.-NPWT*. METHODOLOGY: Managed care diabetic patients treated with V.A.C.-NPWT* for foot ulcers between January 1, 2004 and September 30, 2006 were retrospectively analyzed using an internal administrative database. Demographics and clinical outcomes were expressed as percentages for categorical variables and median for continuous variables. RESULTS: The inclusion criteria yielded 892 diabetic patients with 910 foot wounds over a three-year study period. Median patient age was 56 years and 68% were male. Seventy-six percent of the wounds reached a final outcome of healed (defined as complete closure or adequate granulation). The overall median length of treatment with V.A.C.-NPWT* was 42 days. The most common therapy goal of the healthcare provider was to promote granulation tissue formation, which was the most common status of wound discontinuation of V.A.C.-NPWT* (55.4%). Looking at the healing rates by age, we observed the highest healing rates to be among patients from 50 to 75 years of age (77.5%). CONCLUSIONS: In this three-year analysis of over 900 DFU's treated with V.A.C.-NPWT*, healing percentages were positive as expressed by wound progression and healing outcomes with over 75% of patients reaching the healing goal of granulation tissue formation. This appears to indicate that V.A.C.-NPWT* is an effective treatment option for diabetic foot ulcers from a managed care patient population.

*Vacuum Assisted Closure® (V.A.C.®) Therapy, KCI, USA, San Antonio, TX.