ABSTRACT
Objective: Low-frequency ultrasound debridement with irrigation is an effective method of wound bed preparation. A recent clinical study compared hypochlorous acid preserved wound cleanser (HAPWOC) to saline and found HAPWOC to be a more effective adjunct to low frequency ultrasound debridement. However, HAPWOC has an added cost. The primary objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of HAPWOC as an irrigation modality with low-frequency ultrasound debridement for the treatment of severely complex wounds that were destined to be closed primarily via a flap. The secondary objective of this study was to estimate the number needed to treat (NNT) to avoid a wound-related complication and its expected cost per NNT. Methods: A patient-level Monte-Carlo simulation model was used to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis from the US health system perspective. All clinical data were obtained from a prospective clinical trial. Cost data were obtained from the publicly available data sources in 2021 US dollars. The effect measure was the avoidance of wound-related complications at 14-days post-debridement. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), a measure of the additional cost per benefit. The secondary outcomes were the NNT and expected cost per NNT to avoid one complication (complementary to the ICER in assessing cost-effectiveness). Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were performed to gauge the robustness and reliability of the results. Results: The ICER for HAPWOC versus saline irrigation was US$90.85 per wound complication avoided. The expected incremental cost per patient in the study and effect was US$49.97 with 55% relative reduction in wound-related complications at day 14 post debridement procedure. The NNT and cost per NNT were 2 and US$99.94, respectively. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that these results were robust to variation in model parameters. Conclusion: HAPWOC was a cost-effective strategy for the treatment of complex wounds during ultrasonic debridement. For every two patients treated with HAPWOC, one complication was avoided.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Wound debridement is considered essential in chronic wound management. Hypochlorous acid has been shown to be an effective agent in reducing wound bacterial counts in open wounds. Ultrasound-enabled wound debridement is an effective and efficient method of debridement. This study compared ultrasound irrigation with hypochlorous acid versus saline irrigation for wound debridement on pre- and postoperative wounds and determined regrowth of bacteria over 1 week period of time. Finally, the outcome of definitive wound closure of the clinically clean-appearing wounds was recorded. Methods: Seventeen consenting adult patients with chronic open wounds were randomly selected for study. The patients were randomly divided into the hypochlorous acid irrigation or saline irrigation group. All patients provided pre- and postoperative tissue samples for qualitative and quantitative bacteriology. For the time (7 days) between the debridement procedure and the definitive closure procedure, the wounds were dressed with a silver-impregnated dressing and a hydroconductive dressing. Results: Both types of irrigation in the ultrasonic system initially lowered the bacterial counts by 4 to 6 logs. However, by the time of definitive closure, the saline-irrigated wounds had bacterial counts back up to 105 whereas the hypochlorous acid-irrigated wounds remained at 102 or fewer. More than 80% of patients in the saline group had postoperative closure failure compared with 25% of patients in the hypochlorous acid group. Conclusions: Hypochlorous acid irrigation with ultrasound debridement reduced bacterial growth in chronic open wounds more efficiently than saline alone. Postoperative wound closure outcomes suggest a remarkable reduction in wound complications after wound debridement using hypochlorous acid irrigation with ultrasound versus saline alone.
