Wound Assessment Using Bates Jensen Wound Assessment Tool in Acute Musculoskeletal Injury Following Low-Cost Wall-Mounted Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy Application

Background Negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is an alternative method of wound management for spontaneous healing. However, availability and high cost of a conventional NPWT system remain a challenge. Bates Jensen wound assessment tool (BWAT) has been used to assess wound healing in diverse wound treatments. Although there have been studies evaluating change in BWAT score following application of commercially available NPWT device, there is no literature evaluating change in BWAT score following use of wall-mounted low-cost NPWT device. Materials and Methods Twenty patients above the age of 18 years with acute musculoskeletal wounds who underwent surgical debridement and required subsequent wound coverage were included in the study. Wound dressings were carried out using low-cost wall-mounted negative-pressure device utilizing a constant pressure of 125 mmHg for 48 h. Wound scoring was done using the Bates Jensen wound assessment tool (BWAT). The wound scores before and after application of NPWT were compared and analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results Twenty patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria with a mean age of 37.10 ± 14.37 were included in the study. The average BWAT score before and after NPWT application was 31.2 ± 4.63 and 27.8 ± 3.68, respectively. The mean reduction in total BWAT score following NPWT application was 3.4. The granulation profile improved in 90% ( n = 18/20) cases with a mean reduction of 1.5 ± 0.4 in the granulation tissue score. Exudation decreased in 60% ( n = 12/20) patients with a mean reduction of 0.5 ± 0.23 in exudation type score and 0.35 ± 0.13 in exudation amount score. The necrotic tissue domain improved in 45% ( n = 9/20) of the cases with a mean reduction of 0.45 ± 0.31 in necrotic tissue type score and 0.20 ± 0.12 in necrotic tissue amount score. Conclusion There was a statistically significant reduction in the total BWAT score ( p = 0.001) and an increase in granulation tissue ( p = 0.001). The decrease in wound exudation ( p = 0.004) and necrotic tissue coverage of the wound ( p = 0.007) was also significant. However, there was no statistically significant change in wound depth, size, edges, undermining, tissue edema, tissue induration, and wound epithelialization after 48 h of continuous low-cost wall-mounted negative suction application in these patients.