Abstract

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is a technique that apparently has a positive effect on healing of diabetic foot wounds (DFU). However, at present it is not possible to give any particular recommendations to practising physicians. Despite the fact that the number of papers on the topic is currently available, none of them provides sound evidence that NPWT is superior to dressings of any type. This is due to the bias risk, small sample size and the broad confidence interval which includes both the effect and no effect or even harm of the intervention. None of the studies provides evidence about the time to closure or coverage surgery, health-related quality of life or cost-effectiveness. There is even less evidence that NPWT is an effective and safe option in treating patients with DFU in an outpatient setting. Although NPWT can be considered as a possible option for management of patients with DFU, the decision making process should be based on the physician`s own experience and preferences. More prospective randomized controlled trials are necessary to prove the efficacy of NPWT.