Effects of different frequency normal saline flushing in vacuum sealing drainage wound care

Objective To explore the effect of 0.9% sodium chloride solution (normal saline) flushing with different frequencies on the prevention of blockage, complications and wound healing time in vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) wound care. Methods Totally 125 patients hospitalized in the Orthopaedic Department of the Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to Medical College of Shanghai Jiaotong University and were given VSD would care from April 2016 to January 2018 were selected by convenient sampling method. Non-synchronized controlled trial was used, 40 patients from April to October 2016 were taken as control group and received routine VSD nursing; 44 patients from November 2016 to June 2017 were taken as observation group A and received 50 ml normal saline flushing combined with routine VSD nursing once a day; while 41 patients from July 2017 to January 2018 were assigned into observation group B and received normal saline flushing twice a day combined with routine VSD nursing. The differences in the number of tube blockages, wound healing time and complications between the three groups were compared. Results The total number of tube blockage in the observation group was lower than the control group with statistical difference (χ2=20.048, P 0.05) . The wound healing time of observation group A was (14.02±9.71) days, while that of observation group B was (13.85±7.63) days, both shorter than that of control group (19.73±12.94) days. The differences were statistically significant (P 0.05) . The overall incidence of complications in the observation group was lower than that in the control group with statistical difference (χ2=9.486, P 0.05) . Conclusions Normal saline flushing combined with VSD routine nursing once a day can effectively prevent tube blockage, promote wound healing and reduce complications, which is suitable for clinical promotion. Key words: Negative-pressure wound therapy; Wound nursing; Vacuum sealing drainage; Normal saline; Flushing; Frequency