NPWT significantly reduced the need for debridement and dressing-related complications compared to traditional wet-to-dry dressings in fasciotomy patients following earthquake-related acute compartment syndrome, despite similar outcomes in infection rate, wound closure, and hospital stay.
The NPWT group required significantly fewer debridements than the wet-to-dry dressing group.
Dressing-related complications and the need for additional dressing interventions were significantly higher in the wet-to-dry dressing group.
No significant differences were observed between NPWT and wet-to-dry dressing groups in infection rate, primary wound closure, graft requirement, or length of hospital stay.
Among pediatric patients, infection rates were lower than in adults, but unplanned dressing changes were significantly more frequent.
The study population consisted of 28 earthquake victims (15 males, 13 females) who underwent fasciotomy for lower extremity acute compartment syndrome.
This research suggests that negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) — a technique that uses a vacuum device to apply suction to wounds — offers meaningful advantages over traditional wet-to-dry dressings when treating severe leg wounds after fasciotomy (surgical cuts made to relieve dangerous pressure buildup in the limbs). The study looked at 28 survivors of the February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye who needed fasciotomy for acute compartment syndrome, a serious condition where swelling cuts off blood supply to muscles. Patients treated with NPWT needed fewer wound-cleaning procedures (debridements) and experienced fewer dressing-related complications compared to those treated with traditional wet gauze dressings. However, the two approaches produced similar results in terms of overall infection rates (which were notably high at 32.1% across all patients), the ability to close wounds directly without skin grafts, the need for skin grafting, and total time spent in the hospital. This suggests that while NPWT does not necessarily prevent infection or change the final wound outcome, it does simplify and reduce the burden of day-to-day wound care. The study also found that children had lower infection rates than adults but needed more unplanned dressing changes. This research suggests that NPWT may be particularly valuable in mass-casualty disaster situations where medical staff and supplies are stretched thin, since it reduces how often wounds need to be attended to. The authors note that because the study was retrospective (looking back at records), relatively small (28 patients), and group assignment was based on equipment availability rather than random assignment, future larger and more rigorously designed studies are needed to confirm these findings and assess cost-effectiveness.
Kazez M, Önce G, Ayas O, Şeker A, Kürüm H. (2026). Comparison of negative pressure wound therapy and wet-to-dry dressing after fasciotomy in earthquake victims: A retrospective cohort study.. Ulusal travma ve acil cerrahi dergisi = Turkish journal of trauma & emergency surgery : TJTES. https://doi.org/10.14744/tjtes.2025.20250